Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado has publicly challenged an oil agreement announced by Donald Trump with Venezuela’s interim government, marking her first statement on the matter since the deal was unveiled. Machado, a Nobel peace prize recipient, sought to balance her criticism of the accord with diplomatic sensitivity toward the Trump administration, acknowledging that a US partnership with Venezuela would benefit the country while questioning the authority of current leadership to negotiate such arrangements.
Machado characterized the government occupying the presidential palace in Caracas as an “illegitimate regime” lacking democratic mandate, and stated that Venezuela’s vast natural resource wealth belongs to the Venezuelan people rather than to those currently in power. She indicated that supporters experienced disappointment and frustration at being excluded from the decision-making process regarding the agreement. The arrangement involves Venezuela’s crude oil reserves, with the country holding the world’s largest proven deposits estimated at 303 billion barrels, of which more than 65 billion are covered under the new deal.
The agreement was negotiated between Trump and un-elected interim president Delcy Rodríguez, who assumed power in January following the departure of her predecessor. Observers had anticipated Trump might elevate Machado, a conservative democracy advocate, to a leadership position, particularly given her awarding of her Nobel prize to the US president. Instead, Trump backed Rodríguez while sidelining Machado. The White House framed the oil deal as advancing American energy interests and reducing influence from China and Russia in the region.
US energy secretary Chris Wright stated the objective was expanding Venezuelan production and economic development. However, the agreement has drawn significant criticism from observers who characterize it as exploitative and reminiscent of colonial-era resource extraction. Political observers have expressed concern that the deal may reduce Washington’s willingness to pursue new presidential elections. Machado’s coalition is believed to have secured a decisive electoral victory over the previous leadership in 2024, though that result was disputed. On recent questioning about election timing, both Trump and Rodríguez provided noncommittal responses, with Trump suggesting readiness would come eventually.
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