Trump says U.S. has entered deal with Venezuela to take control of 65 billion barrels of oil reserves

President Trump says his administration has entered a sweeping agreement with Venezuela that could give the U.S. access to vast amounts of the South American country's untapped oil reserves, at cost.

<img src='https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default/strip/false/crop/4854x3236+0+0/resize/4854x3236!/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fd4%2F0a%2F08856ec44cb6b0439cd340b4ea99%2Fap26240757900206.jpg' alt='President Trump waves after arriving off Air Force One, Friday, Aug. 28, 2026, at Joint Base Andrews, Md.'/><p>President Trump says his administration has entered a sweeping agreement with Venezuela that could give the U.S. access to vast amounts of the South American country's untapped oil reserves, at cost.</p><p>(Image credit: Mark Schiefelbein)</p><img src='https://media.npr.org/include/images/tracking/npr-rss-pixel.png?story=nx-s1-5948229' />