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U.S. President Donald Trump stated on Friday that his administration has signed a broad agreement with Venezuela that, if finalized, could give the United States access to vast quantities of the South American country's untapped oil reserves at cost price.
In a social media post announcing the agreement, Trump maintained that it was negotiated by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, and acting President of Venezuela Delcy Rodríguez.
"The United States of America has just signed an agreement with the country of Venezuela, the largest oil deal in the history of the world," Trump wrote.
For its part, Rodríguez's government indicated in a statement that the deal involves the development of 17 fields with a proven potential of 65 billion barrels. It noted that it could attract 100 billion dollars in investment to Venezuela's oil industry and generate more than 209 billion dollars in taxes for Caracas.
In a Telegram post, the acting president predicted that the agreement "will have a significant impact on the rebirth of our nation."
The deal allows the United States to partner with an unidentified private operator in Venezuela to create a new private company to take control of the reserves, according to a U.S. official familiar with the agreement.
The official, who was not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity, added that Rodríguez granted the company rights for 100 years to develop the oil fields.
The agreement gives the United States 55% of the actual production of the new private company, including an ownership stake and rights to buy oil at cost price. The company would be the second-largest corporate holder of proven reserves after Saudi Aramco, according to the official.
[Publicidad]