Venezuela Oil Deal Promises One Million Barrels at Zero Cost

President Donald Trump proposed that Venezuela could become the 51st state of the United States on Tuesday. The president made the suggestion while showing off a tanker he described as carrying one million barrels of oil from the South American nation.

The remarks took place at a campaign rally in Corpus Christi, Texas. Trump pointed to the ship anchored off the coast and declared the oil was being provided to the United States at zero cost to the American taxpayer. He characterized the event as the greatest oil victory in history.

The agreement was struck with Venezuela’s interim government, a body backed by the Trump administration. Trump stated the deal will cover billions of barrels of oil. The United States deposed Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro in January after capturing him during an attack on his Caracas residence.

Maduro was taken to New York to face criminal charges. Since his detention, elections have not been held in Venezuela. Critics of the administration have raised concerns that it has not pushed for a transition to democracy in the country.

The oil deal addresses rising domestic fuel costs. Gas prices surged after the United States entered a war with Iran in February. Iran closed the Strait of Hormuz, a passageway that carries 20% of the world’s oil supplies. Trump claimed on social media that fuel prices will soon plummet.

He also asserted that the Western Hemisphere is now the energy capital of the world. This assertion followed his administration’s strategy of energy dominance from Alaska to Venezuela. The proposal to add Venezuela to the union joins a list of other territories Trump has discussed acquiring, including Greenland, Canada, and Mexico.

The next step in the political calendar is the midterm elections next week. Tens of millions of Americans will cast ballots while polling shows Trump’s approval ratings at record lows. These lows follow his aggressive foreign policy moves, including the war with Iran and global tariffs.