Venezuela’s Delcy Rodríguez Defends ‘Endless’ Benefits of Oil Deal with Trump Amid Homegrown Fury

Venezuela’s vice-president hails an agreement that reportedly hands the US control of 65 billion barrels of crude, but critics accuse the Maduro government of selling out the nation’s sovereignty.

Venezuela’s vice-president, Delcy Rodríguez, has gone on the offensive to defend a sweeping oil deal involving former US president Donald Trump, describing its benefits as “endless” even as the reported arrangement triggers a furious backlash inside the South American country. The agreement, which has not been publicly detailed in full, is said to grant the United States effective control over an estimated 65 billion barrels of Venezuelan crude reserves – one of the world’s largest remaining oil deposits.

The deal sits at the volatile crossroads of energy security, US-Venezuela diplomacy and the political survival of Nicolás Maduro’s embattled government. While Rodríguez frames the pact as a historic opportunity to revive a crippled economy and break years of US sanctions, domestic opponents and wary citizens see it as a staggering surrender of national patrimony. The controversy raises fundamental questions about what “control” means in practical terms – whether ownership, exclusive production rights, export arrangements, or a deeper political lever – and who truly benefits from the bargain.

Rodríguez mounts a full-throated defence

In a coordinated public push, Rodríguez, a trusted ally of Maduro and the government’s most senior female official, insisted the deal would unlock investment and technology that state oil company PDVSA has been unable to access for years. She characterised the arrangement as a pragmatic response to the “economic war” waged against Venezuela, without detailing the precise commitments made by Trump’s side or the legal framework under which the US would gain its reported stake.

“The benefits are endless,” Rodríguez said, according to official statements carried by state media. She argued that the alternative – continued isolation and a decaying oil infrastructure – would leave the country with no viable path to recovery. Her remarks suggest that the Maduro government is betting heavily on a transactional relationship with Trump, whose previous administration had imposed harsh sanctions and at one point branded Maduro a “dictator.”

Outrage at home over sovereignty and legitimacy

The pushback has been swift. Opposition figures, civil society groups and even some voices within the ruling coalition have condemned the reported terms, arguing that transferring control of the national oil wealth to a foreign power – especially one that has sought to topple the government – is an unconstitutional act. Critics note that any deal handing over the Orinoco Belt’s heavy crude reserves would require approval from the National Assembly, a body whose legitimacy is disputed.

“What they are doing is mortgaging the future of every Venezuelan for a short-term political fix,” one opposition lawmaker said in a televised debate. Protests have been reported in several cities, with demonstrators carrying signs that read “Oil is ours” and “No to the sellout.”

What “control” really means

The key unknown is the nature of the US stake. If the deal involves a long-term production-sharing agreement or a joint venture with a Trump-linked entity, it could grant de facto operational control without outright ownership. Alternatively, the arrangement might be structured as a debt-for-oil swap or an exclusive export licence that gives Washington sway over where Venezuelan crude is sold and at what price. The 65-billion-barrel figure is close to the total proven reserves of the OPEC nation, suggesting that the scope is vast.

Diplomatic analysts note that such a pact would mark a dramatic reversal from the Trump administration’s earlier “maximum pressure” campaign, which aimed to cripple Maduro’s finances. The shift hints at a possible grand bargain: sanctions relief in exchange for energy and geopolitical concessions. However, without a formal announcement or treaty text, the details remain clouded by speculation.

• Estimated US control: 65 billion barrels of Venezuelan oil reserves.
• PDVSA’s daily output has fallen below 1 million barrels due to mismanagement and sanctions.
• No formal document has been published by either Caracas or Trump’s team.
• Domestic protests have erupted in multiple Venezuelan cities.

Trump’s shadow over the deal

Donald Trump’s precise role has not been clarified. The former president, who is campaigning to return to the White House, has not commented publicly on the reported deal. Associates from his business and political circles have previously explored oil opportunities in Venezuela, and the re-emergence of such talks could signal an attempt to secure a geopolitical win ahead of the 2028 election. The Maduro government, for its part, appears willing to gamble that a Trump presidency – or a Trump-aligned faction – would be more amenable to a transactional relationship than the current administration.

A sovereign gamble

For Venezuela, the gamble is enormous. The country sits on the world’s largest proven oil reserves, yet its people suffer from chronic shortages of fuel, food and medicine. The promise of investment could be a lifeline, but the perception of losing control over the resource that defines the nation’s identity is causing deep political wounds. Rodríguez’s defence will be tested as more details emerge, and the coming weeks are likely to reveal whether the deal can survive the storm of public anger – or whether it becomes yet another chapter in Venezuela’s long and painful resource curse.