President Trump announced Friday that the United States has struck what he called "the biggest oil deal in world history" — an agreement giving Washington majority control of more than 65 billion barrels of Venezuela's proven oil reserves, according to CNBC and multiple outlets covering the announcement.

Trump said the arrangement, negotiated with Venezuela's Interim President Delcy Rodriguez, comes "at no cost to" American taxpayers and would more than double the size of US-controlled oil reserves overnight. He argued the deal would "substantially lower" gas prices for Americans "long into the future," per Newsweek's reporting on the announcement.

The Fine Print

Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of War Pete Hegseth worked with Rodriguez and private business partners to finalize the terms, according to CNN. Rodriguez, for her part, called the agreement a turning point that would "have a significant impact on our nation's revival."

The deal caps months of escalating US pressure on Caracas. Trump ordered military action against Venezuela earlier this year that reshaped the country's leadership, and Rodriguez has served as interim president since. House Oversight Democrats' ongoing investigation, first launched in January, specifically cites "military action against Venezuela and the President's plan to seize the country's oil wealth" as the subject of their inquiry into any coordination with US oil majors.

"THE BIGGEST OIL DEAL IN WORLD HISTORY."

The announcement lands as the war between Israel, the US and Iran hit its six-month mark on Friday — a conflict that has kept global crude markets on edge and complicated any promise of falling prices at the pump. Chevron, the only American oil company still operating inside Venezuela, declined to comment on Trump's post when asked by reporters.

Not everyone is cheering. House Oversight Democrats, led by Ranking Member Robert Garcia, have spent months demanding records of any communication between the Trump administration and major oil companies — including Chevron, ExxonMobil, ConocoPhillips and Continental Resources — about the administration's Venezuela policy and who ultimately stands to profit from it.

Commentators are already gaming out the political fallout, with some arguing the deal could scramble Democrats' 2026 midterm messaging on energy costs, while critics note the "no cost to taxpayers" framing sidesteps thornier questions about how a foreign government's oil wealth gets transferred and who controls the pipeline of profits from here.

No timeline has been released for when the deal takes effect or how quickly it might affect production. The White House has not detailed the legal structure behind Washington's "majority control," and it remains unclear whether Congress will get a formal vote on the arrangement.