US President Donald Trump has announced a sweeping new oil agreement with Venezuela, calling it the “biggest oil deal in world history.” The agreement could open access to vast Venezuelan oil reserves and potentially attract around $100 billion in investment into the country's battered energy sector. Venezuela's government says the deal covers 17 oil fields with a proven potential of 65 billion barrels, while the country has an estimated 303 billion barrels of total crude reserves.  

Venezuela is facing a catastrophic humanitarian and natural disaster after twin earthquakes devastated large parts of the country, pushing the confirmed death toll to 920 and leaving nearly 50,000 people missing amid widespread destruction. Rescue operations are ongoing across affected regions, including Caracas, La Guaira, and several northern coastal states, where entire neighborhoods have been reduced to rubble. Emergency teams are working around the clock to locate survivors trapped beneath collapsed buildings, but the scale of destruction has made recovery efforts extremely difficult. In a further blow to recovery efforts, a fresh 4.9 magnitude tremor struck the northern coast of Venezuela, triggering renewed panic and raising concerns about additional structural collapses. The aftershock has further complicated search and rescue operations already stretched to their limits. WATCH