Oil and politics: What Trump’s ‘historic’ deal means for Venezuela
Summary
The United States special forces captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro in early 2026, leading to a new government under interim President Delcy Rodriguez seeking to open Venezuela’s oil industry to US companies. Recently, the US and Venezuela agreed on a 100-year deal allowing US companies to access 65 billion barrels of Venezuelan oil, marking a major shift in control of the country’s oil resources.Key Facts
- Venezuela’s oil industry was nationalised for about 27 years under Maduro’s party.
- President Maduro was captured by US forces on January 3, 2026, and taken to the US for trial.
- Delcy Rodriguez became interim president and started reforms to privatize the oil sector.
- Venezuela’s General Hydrocarbons Law was reformed to allow US and some foreign companies to operate oil fields, except companies from China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea.
- The US-Venezuela deal grants US companies access to 65 billion barrels of oil for the next 100 years.
- The deal involves 17 major oil fields previously controlled by Chinese and Russian companies.
- A private company, North American Blue Energy Partners (NABEP), will run the fields with a 35% stake for the US Department of Defense’s Office of Strategic Capital.
- The US government can buy 20% of the oil from these fields at production cost, not market price.
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