# Cato Scholar Comments on the U.S.-Venezuela Oil Deal 

The United States is losing the tremendous amount of goodwill it had among Venezuelans who are increasingly viewing the deal as a betrayal of democracy.

August 31, 2026 • News Releases 

The Trump administration has announced a deal granting the United States an effective 55 percent stake in a new Venezuela oil venture, negotiated with the country’s interim government months after the U.S. military operation that removed Nicolás Maduro. Cato’s [Ian Vásquez](https://www.cato.org/people/ian-vasquez) released the following statement in response:

> Everything about the announced U.S.-Venezuela oil deal is troublesome: the lack of details and transparency; the fact that the Trump administration is expanding state corporatism abroad and that the U.S. government will have a majority stake in a major oil business with a partner widely viewed by Venezuelans and internationally as notoriously corrupt; the lack of legitimacy that results from working with the socialist dictatorship; the questionable legality of the deal in the U.S. and Venezuela; the sidelining of the legitimate democratic opposition and strengthening of the dictatorship; the resulting incentives by the regime and the U.S. to keep delaying a transition to democracy; and the erroneous idea that an imperial resource grab makes any economic sense.
> 
> The United States is losing the tremendous amount of goodwill it had among Venezuelans who are increasingly viewing the deal as a betrayal of democracy. Ironically, the Trump administration could have achieved a Venezuelan oil sector completely open to U.S. investment in a way that enjoyed widespread legitimacy by working with Maria Corina Machado, the leader of the opposition, on a democratic transition. It’s not too late for the U.S. to do so and achieve Venezuelan reforms that are far-reaching and durable.

If you’d like to speak with Ian Vasquez, please contact Cato PR at [pr@​cato.​org](mailto:pr@cato.org).

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