Trump says US has entered deal with Venezuela to take control of 65 bil. barrels of oil reserves

President Donald Trump announced on Friday that the United States has entered a historic agreement with Venezuela to take control of 65 billion barrels of the South American country's oil reserves. The deal, which Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, and Venezuela's interim President Delcy Rodriguez had negotiated, was described by Trump as "THE BIGGEST OIL DEAL IN WORLD HISTORY!" in a social media post.

The Venezuelan government's press office did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the matter. This announcement follows nearly nine months since the U.S. military, at Trump's direction, carried out an operation to capture Venezuela's president Nicolás Maduro and transport him to the United States to stand trial for federal narcoterrorism and drug trafficking charges.

Trump is currently facing increasing pressure to address the issue of high gas prices and the ongoing war in Iran, which has now reached a six-month stalemate with no end in sight. The U.S. has reportedly tapped its strategic petroleum reserves in response to the rising prices.