Machado Challenges Legitimacy of US-Venezuela Oil Agreement

Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado has raised serious concerns regarding Donald Trump’s recent oil agreement with Venezuela’s interim government, asserting that the nation’s natural resources should not be controlled by an “illegitimate regime.”

In her first public response following Trump’s announcement of what he termed “the biggest oil deal in world history,” Machado attempted to balance her criticism of the pact with a desire to maintain a functional relationship with the White House.

Via a social media video, the Nobel Peace Prize laureate acknowledged the importance of the relationship, stating: “Of course the United States is the principal partner Venezuela needs to fully develop its strategic potential. This is what the majority of Venezuelans believe… and it is something I’ve spent my whole life defending.”

However, Machado argued that the current administration at the Miraflores presidential palace in Caracas lacks the democratic mandate to negotiate the country’s assets, describing the occupants as “enemies of the US.” She emphasized that the wealth of the subsoil belongs to the Venezuelan people, not an illegitimate government, noting that many of her supporters feel “sadness and anger” over their exclusion from the negotiations.

Venezuela possesses the world’s largest proven crude oil reserves, estimated at 303 billion barrels, with over 65 billion barrels involved in the current agreement.

The deal was brokered with interim president Delcy Rodríguez, who assumed power in January following the abduction of her predecessor, Nicolás Maduro, by US special forces.

While many analysts anticipated that Trump would install Machado—a conservative democracy activist who previously gifted her Nobel prize to the US president—Trump opted to support Rodríguez. He warned Rodríguez that she would “pay a very big price,” potentially greater than Maduro’s, if she failed to comply with US expectations. Consequently, Machado has found herself marginalized.

The White House maintains that the agreement is a strategic move to ensure US “energy dominance for the next century” and to eliminate “foreign malign influence” by displacing Russian and Chinese interests from the region’s oilfields.

US Energy Secretary Chris Wright, speaking Wednesday outside the Miraflores palace, stated the objective is to “massively grow production and economic opportunities in Venezuela.” Wright told reporters that President Trump’s mission is to bring “peace, freedom, opportunity, and prosperity” to the Venezuelan people.

Conversely, critics have condemned the arrangement as a predatory, colonial-style land grab. Supporters of Machado express concern that the deal reduces Washington’s incentive to press for new presidential elections.

It is widely believed that Machado’s movement won the 2024 elections by a landslide; however, Maduro refused to concede, maintaining power until his removal on January 3, 2026.

On Wednesday, both Trump and Rodríguez were evasive regarding the timeline for new elections.

“You had a very powerful, very nasty dictatorship in Venezuela – and they’re just not going to be ready for it yet,” Trump remarked, adding vaguely that elections would happen “soon.”

When questioned on the matter, Rodríguez stated: “There will be an electoral process, but when Venezuela is ready,” adding, “I don’t set dates.”

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