Trump Says Venezuela Is Not Ready for Elections, Points to Oil
President Donald Trump has said Venezuela is not ready to hold elections and has focused instead on the country's oil, according to The New York Times, which reported the remarks on October 23, 2026.
Venezuela is currently run by an interim government, a temporary administration that holds power until a permanent one is chosen. In July, Trump told reporters that Venezuela was not ready to hold elections and said the country had made a lot of progress under its acting leadership, Reuters reported.
Oil sits at the center of the relationship. Venezuela's oil industry is controlled by the government and is under U.S. sanctions, which are legal restrictions on trade and financial dealings, according to The New York Times. In January, Trump signed an executive order declaring a national emergency to protect Venezuelan oil revenue held in U.S. Treasury accounts, the White House said.
The United States has since moved to deepen its ties with the interim government through an oil agreement. The White House said the deal gives the United States majority control of more than 65 billion barrels of proven oil reserves, meaning oil that has been confirmed as recoverable, in Venezuela. The White House described the agreement as the biggest oil deal in world history.
Venezuela's own government has long claimed reserves of 300 billion barrels. Yahoo Finance, citing reporting on the claim, noted that experts cast doubt on that figure in October 2026.
Opposition politics is also part of the picture. María Corina Machado, a Venezuelan opposition leader, said in a wide-ranging interview that she would return to Venezuela, The New York Times reported. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has previously said the United States supports restoring democracy in Venezuela, according to a State Department release from January 2025.
On investment, Branson said Venezuela will attract investors after elections, Reuters reported on October 21, 2026. Taken together, the statements leave open the timing of any vote, which the President has tied to the country's readiness and which the opposition has continued to press for.
