1. United States
2. Calif.
3. Letter

Congress needs to act immediately to block the Trump administration's oil deal with Venezuela. Trump is claiming "majority U.S. control" over 65 billion barrels of Venezuelan oil reserves that was secured through a backroom arrangement brokered by Marco Rubio and Pete Hegseth with no congressional authorization, no public terms, and no accountability. Venezuelan oil belongs to the Venezuelan people. It is not ours to seize. This deal is being structured through private business partnerships that will funnel the proceeds to U.S. corporations, not to the citizens of Venezuela. Meanwhile, Venezuela's own opposition is calling it a "land grab" and a betrayal. The U.S. removed Nicolás Maduro from power and promised democratic change. Instead, Washington is looting the country's most valuable resource. That is not liberation. That is exploitation. Congress must pass legislation blocking any unilateral executive claim to foreign sovereign resources, mandate that proceeds from Venezuelan oil sales benefit Venezuelan citizens directly, insist on transparent accounting of where all of the oil and proceeds are going, and require free and fair elections in Venezuela without further delay. This administration does not have the authority to hand itself control of another nation's natural wealth and Congress has both the power and the obligation to stop it.