In his 2026 State of the Union address on Tuesday night, US President Donald Trump announced that the United States has received more than 80 million barrels of oil from Venezuela for sale on the global market. Trump said American oil production has risen by over 600,000 barrels per day and described Venezuela as a “new friend and partner” as he spoke to the House of Representatives and the Senate.
He noted the figure significantly exceeds previous estimates after the US military’s January operation in Caracas, which led to the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, who now faces criminal charges in New York. The oil deliveries follow the announcement last week that 50 million barrels had already been received and were destined for Houston, Texas.
Trump also reiterated Washington’s goal of establishing dominance in the Western Hemisphere and safeguarding national interests against violence, drugs, terrorism and foreign interference, while linking energy and security objectives. Gasoline prices and domestic energy production featured prominently in his remarks.
In addition to energy policy, Trump said he wants to facilitate a settlement of the Ukrainian conflict and claimed credit for ending eight wars, while working to end what he described as the ninth. “This war would never have happened if I were president,” he asserted. His address, one of the longest on record at nearly 108 minutes, included frequent pauses for applause.
Political analysts have noted that the large oil figure — equivalent to only a few days of US production — has not been independently verified by official US energy data, and some sources point to significantly lower Venezuelan shipments than the president claimed.
