President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio went to the port of Corpus Christi, Texas, on Tuesday, 27 October, to view a tanker carrying 1 million barrels of Venezuelan crude. The visit became part of Trump’s campaign rally for Republican candidates before the 2026 midterms.
Pointing towards the vessel, Trump told the crowd: “See that little ship out there? It's got 1 million barrels of oil on it from Venezuela.”
Before leaving for the port, he had told reporters: “We took over Venezuela very successfully, and they've sent me, as a gift, a boatload of a million barrels of oil.”
Trump said the oil was being supplied “at zero cost to the American taxpayer”. He also told supporters: “I'm going to accept a million barrels of oil, and I'm going to give it to you people to use it the way you want.”
The shipment marked the first cargo under an energy agreement reached in August between the Trump administration and Venezuela’s interim President Delcy Rodriguez. Trump said it was “thanks to our big victory in our recent war with Venezuela” and called it “the greatest oil victory in history”.
Rubio, who joined Trump on the trip, said: “It's an honor to work for the greatest country in the world, for the greatest president in the history of the United States of America. We love you, Texas. Thank you.”
The political and energy arrangements followed the capture and extradition of Venezuela’s former leader Nicolas Maduro on 3 January to face narco-terrorism charges in the US. Months of uncertainty followed in Venezuela.
In late August, Trump announced an agreement with Rodriguez giving the US control of 65 billion barrels of oil from Venezuela’s reserves. The Trump administration also announced that the Pentagon would hold a 35 percent stake in North America Blue Energy Partners, which oversees 65 billion barrels of proven oil reserves.
Venezuela holds roughly 303 billion barrels of crude oil, equivalent to 17% of the world’s supply. Rubio was a major force behind the US invasion of Venezuela and the subsequent oil agreement, according to the account of the trip.
The White House said in September that it expected the first shipment under the agreement would likely reach US reserves in November. After the cargo arrived in Corpus Christi, a White House official said: “This will be the first of the billions of barrels to come from this deal.”
Trump used the port appearance to press his case in Texas, where he has made four trips this campaign season. He has endorsed the state attorney general, Ken Paxton, over the incumbent Senator John Cornyn in the Republican primary.
Trump described Paxton as “the best attorney general in the history of the state of Texas.” Paxton faces Democrat James Talarico, a Presbyterian seminarian, in the Senate contest. A RealClearPolitics average of polls had Talarico ahead by 1.7 points.
Trump urged his supporters to “vote as if he were on the ballot”. Democrats are widely projected to take control of the US House of Representatives in the 3 November vote.
Trump also floated making Venezuela the “51st state” during the rally.
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