'The benefits are endless': Venezuela's Delcy Rodríguez defends Trump oil deal as critics rage at home
Venezuela holds the world's largest proven crude reserves — estimated at 303 billion barrels — with the deal spanning 17 strategic oilfields and projected to deliver $209 billion in taxes to the Venezuelan state.
• Rodríguez took to Venezuelan state television to make the case for the contentious energy agreement with Washington, insisting that her country will retain control over its vast oil reserves and collect more than $209bn in revenues. The acting president called it a "historic" deal targeting 1.5 million barrels per day across 17 strategic oilfields under a 25-year bilateral project. She argued that leaving oil in the ground where it appears only as a statistical figure helps no one, and that US investment would finally turn Venezuela's reserves into real prosperity.
Rodríguez said the deal would attract over $100bn in investment and make Venezuela 'an energy powerhouse', with around $19 from every barrel going to the Venezuelan state.
María Elvira Salazar, a Republican congresswoman from Florida, deleted an X post criticising the deal before reversing her position and calling it 'a great deal', while still insisting 'Delcy is the wrong person to make this deal with.'
Trump announced the agreement Friday, crediting Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth with negotiating what he called 'THE BIGGEST OIL DEAL IN WORLD HISTORY.'
