Venezuela's interim president faces backlash over oil deal with US
GeopoliticsCommodity Impact 4
Venezuela's interim president, Juan Guaido, has faced fierce criticism from hardliners and opposition factions after agreeing to grant the United States exclusive access to the country's oil resources. US President Donald Trump announced the arrangement on his social media platform Truth Social on the evening of the 28th. This is part of a broader effort to counter China's growing influence and assert US dominance in the Western Hemisphere. For Guaido, placing the majority of Venezuela's 65 billion barrels of crude oil under US control could weaken the Trump administration's motivation to push for early elections. However, given the anti-American nationalist sentiment, the deal also risks becoming a political liability, and criticism has erupted on social media. Guaido defended the agreement in a televised address on the 29th, explaining that it would yield profits of about $19 per barrel, but the party of opposition leader Maria Corina Machado has rejected the validity of the deal.
