Weekly Report - 03 September 2026 (WR-26-35)

If, as the sceptics claim, the principal motivation for the US military intervention in Venezuela at the start of the year was to bring the country’s oil reserves under Washington’s long-term control, then that plan is now bearing fruit. On 28 August President Donald Trump announced the completion of “the biggest oil deal in world history”, which will give the US government control over some 65bn barrels of proven oil reserves. President Delcy Rodríguez said that the agreement will propel foreign investment into Venezuela. Yet she will need to rebut criticism over the ceding of sovereignty, the lack of transparency in talks which led to the deal, and the involvement of the US Department of Defense in the Venezuelan oil business.