CARACAS, October 8, 2025 (Agencies): The administration of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro offered to open Venezuela’s vast oil and gold sectors to U.S. companies in an attempt to ease tensions with Washington during Donald Trump’s presidency, the New York Times reported on Friday, citing multiple sources familiar with the discussions.
Over several months, senior officials from the Maduro government engaged in back-channel negotiations with U.S. representatives, proposing extensive access for American firms to Venezuela’s natural resources. According to the report, Maduro’s regime offered to open all Venezuelan oil and gold projects to U.S. companies, provide preferential contracts, redirect oil exports from China to the United States, and scale back energy and mining partnerships with Iran, China, and Russia.
The overture was aimed at preventing escalating confrontation with Washington. However, the Trump Administration ultimately rejected the proposal. Earlier this week, the NYT reported that President Trump had instructed officials to end diplomatic engagement with Venezuela, effectively killing any potential deal at that stage.
The developments took place against a backdrop of growing U.S. pressure on Venezuela. In recent weeks, Washington deployed warships to the Caribbean and targeted small boats off Venezuela, accusing them of drug smuggling operations.
Meanwhile, the U.S. Treasury this week authorized Shell and the government of Trinidad and Tobago to work with Venezuela on developing an offshore gas field near their maritime border. Trinidad’s Attorney General John Jeremie said the authorization would proceed in three stages, with the first allowing negotiations with Venezuela and its state oil company PDVSA. Crucially, the authorization requires U.S. companies to be part of the project’s development.
“You have to hit commercial targets for U.S. companies. We don’t think those targets are hard to meet. They are reasonable,” Jeremie said at a press conference, according to Reuters.
The NYT report highlights the lengths to which the Maduro regime was willing to go to secure a thaw with Washington, even as its alliances with Iran, China, and Russia deepened in the face of U.S. sanctions and diplomatic isolation.