The United States and Venezuela signed a very large oil deal in Caracas on Wednesday. The deal came after US soldiers removed President Nicolás Maduro from power in January. A US-led company will control 17 oil fields for 100 years. These fields hold about 65 billion barrels of oil. This is more than one fifth of Venezuela’s known oil.

US President Donald Trump called it the biggest oil deal in history. Venezuela’s temporary president, Delcy Rodríguez, said it could bring $100 billion in new money and over $200 billion in taxes. The US government will work with a private oil company called Nabep. It can stop people from joining the company’s top group, and most members of that group must be US citizens. The US hopes that more oil from Venezuela will help lower fuel prices during its war with Iran.

Many Venezuelans and oil experts do not support the deal. They say the United States gets too much control. They also say Venezuela’s oil industry needs about $100 billion and many years of work. Trump says the deal may make money in two or three years, but experts say it may take ten years. Government opponents want a new election before such a deal. Some socialists also say Rodríguez has given Venezuela’s most important resource to the United States.