US-Venezuela oil deal faces legal and transparency questions

On 31 August 2026, the United States and Venezuela reached an oil deal. Trump said Exxon is 'going in' to Venezuela, and a US oil firm is to take over some oilfields previously run by Chinese and Russian companies, according to officials. The Wall Street Journal wrote that Trump's Venezuelan oil company plans a massive drilling push, and Der Spiegel wrote that Trump wants to fill strategic US reserves with Venezuelan oil.

Experts and lawyers said they were puzzled by the deal and called for contract transparency. Bloomberg wrote that the deal leaves a $100 billion question unanswered, Kurier quoted massive criticism calling it 'Vermögensraub' (asset grab), and Tagesschau wrote that experts doubt Trump's promises.