Delcy Rodríguez appeared this Saturday before the Venezuelans in a message broadcast on state television to defend the controversial oil agreement with the U.S. announced the day before by Donald Trump, which grants Washington majority control over approximately 65 billion barrels of proven Venezuelan oil reserves.
The speech came after a barrage of criticism generated by a pact of which few details had emerged, and which Trump described as "the largest oil agreement in history" when he announced it on Truth Social.
"Venezuela retains ownership and sovereignty over its resources."
Rodríguez's central message was a defense of national sovereignty against those who view the agreement as a concession of the country's energy resources.
"There is something that must be absolutely clear: Venezuela retains ownership and sovereignty over its resources, while utilizing capital, technology, and operational capacity to leverage the recovery of a strategically important industry that has been severely impacted by sanctions," he stated.
Rodríguez framed the agreement as a strategic necessity:
"It is of no use to have our oil reserves underground just to appear in a statistic or an accounting, allowing us to say: 'We are the country with the largest reserves in the world,' when we cannot convert it and translate it into development for Venezuela."
The leader also refuted claims regarding a 100-year concession, specifying that the agreement is valid for 25 years.
The terms of the agreement, according to Rodríguez
"This binational project, signed for 25 years, involves the development of 17 strategic fields with a production target of over 1.5 million barrels per day," detailed the acting president.
The agreement also includes eight green blocks in the Orinoco Oil Belt, with minimum royalties of 16% and an income tax of 34%, conditions that Rodríguez presented as vastly superior to those during the oil opening three decades ago, when royalties were barely 1%.
Regarding state revenues, it was direct:
"There is a legitimate question that every Venezuelan has the right to ask: How much does Venezuela receive? The revenue for our country would amount to a total of 209.335 billion dollars. In concrete terms, this means that for every barrel produced and sold, approximately 19 dollars go directly into our country."
"Each part contributes what it can do best."
Rodríguez defended the logic of the pact with an argument of complementarity:
"The premise of this agreement is simple: each party contributes what it can do best. Venezuela offers the experience of its workers, knowledge of the oil business, and its industry. The United States provides the capital and technology we need to resume growth. The benefits of the agreement can be easily overlooked."
He also announced additional agreements being negotiated with Chevron, Repsol, Eni, Shell, and BP, with a clear goal:
"We want to be an energy powerhouse, a major oil producer, an important gas exporter, and to have significant national petrochemical development."
In a marked shift from the rhetoric maintained during Nicolás Maduro's government, he publicly expressed gratitude to the U.S. administration:
"I thank President Donald Trump, Secretary [Marco] Rubio, and the members of his administration for the effort they have made to reach this agreement."
Contradictions and criticisms that persist
Despite Rodríguez's remarks, the agreement remains surrounded by questions.
A U.S. official quoted by CBS stated that the agreement would actually include a 100-year concession to a private joint venture in which the U.S. would control 55%, a version that directly contradicts the 25 years announced by the acting president.
The economist Ricardo Hausmann described it as "an expropriation of assets" and unconstitutional, given that the Venezuelan Constitution considers hydrocarbons "inalienable and imprescriptible."
In the streets of Caracas, dozens of chavistas protested called by the Anti-Imperialist Popular Front, demanding the release of Maduro and Cilia Flores.
In contrast, the PSUV issued a statement of "full support" for Rodríguez, and the son of Nicolás Maduro also endorsed the agreement, expressing gratitude to Trump and Rubio, despite facing federal charges in the U.S. for drug trafficking.
Venezuelan oil production reached about 1.2 million barrels per day in July 2026, still far from the three million that the country extracted at the end of the last century.
The agreement, which involves a projected investment of over $100 billion, aims specifically to close that historical gap.
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