DORAL, Fla. — Members of Congress are asking for the details on the new agreement announced by President Trump allowing the U.S. to take control of billions of barrels of Venezuelan oil.

The agreement could reshape the global energy market and usher in a new chapter in U.S. relations with the country.

Trump’s social media announcement on Friday caught many off guard, explained foreign policy analyst Adam Ratzlaff.

“There’s a lot of questions around this deal,” he said. “Is this about transition to democracy, or is this just about oil?

“What we do know about the deal right now is that there’s an agreement that has been reached between (U.S. Secretary of State Marco) Rubio and (U.S. Secretary of War Pete) Hegseth, who are negotiating on the part of the United States, and the (Delcy) Rodriguez administration in Venezuela, to have the United States take about 65 billion barrels of oil from the country?”

Florida International University Politics and International Relations Professor Eduardo Gamarra expressed a similar sentiment.

“What kind of arrangement they have of co-governance, of course, is as non-transparent as the oil agreement,” he said.

Gamarra said many are puzzled in part because details of the deal remain murky.

“There’s this absolute lack of transparency,” he said.

There are some in the South Florida community, like Idael Silio, who are baffled as to why the U.S. would negotiate with Venezuelan officials like acting president Delcy Rodriguez, who were previously loyalists to former leader Nicolas Maduro, who was captured by the U.S.

“Venezuela still has a dictatorial government, it doesn’t make sense for the United States to do oil business with them,” said Silio. “It’s the same people. I haven’t seen any progress in Venezuela.”

Trump claimed that the deal will “substantially lower Gas Prices for all Americans, long into the future.”

Local 10 asked GasBuddy’s Head of Petroleum Analysis Patrick De Haan about a potential change to gas prices in South Florida.

“Unfortunately, gas prices aren’t soon to be impacted at all by this potential deal,” he said. “If it passes legal muster, it will be a major shift, but many years from now. It will take tremendous resources, billions of dollars being invested in Venezuela, to increase the output of oil.”

He said that timeframe is likely around five-to-ten years, if the deal comes to fruition.

“Well, the first thing is this is an agreement reached with a dictatorship in country, right?” said Ratzlaff. “So how does this happen if there’s transition to democracy? Does the opposition recognize this as a trade deal? And at the same time, as the U.S. says, we want to stake it in company, there’s a lot of questions about whether that’s something the U.S. government can or should do.

“This may shift entirely when we see a change in the administration.”

De Haan also spoke about Venezuela’s oil being considered heavy and why that could add to the timeline.

“Venezuela and oil tends to be extraordinarily heavy compared to other oils available globally,” he said. “Think of it like going into an auto parts store. There’s not just one type of oil that everyone refines. There are multitudes of different types of oil. Venezuela’s oil does need more work to refine because it’s extraordinarily heavy.

“The quality of it is rather low, but it certainly can be used and can be refined here in the United States. It will take time, however.”

This as fuel prices begin to creep up in Florida ahead of the upcoming Labor Day weekend.

“On the run up to Labor Day, unfortunately, I did notice that just a couple of hours ago, gas prices in Florida are jumping back up to $3.99,” said De Hann. “And that likely has to do with oil prices. In addition, oil prices (are) jumping today as there have been new escalations between the U.S. and Iran.

“So very short term, don’t expect much relief in what you’re paying at the pump. Gas prices still are going to remain elevated for the distant future.”

Ratzlaff said he’s not surprised that the U.S. is willing to invest in Venezuelan oil.

“Obviously oil prices are extremely high,” he said. “There’s a desire to drive them lower. Having the United States government buy oil could drive down those prices. However, doing so may cost Venezuela’s democracy and transition in the process.”

He went on to explain why money coming into the country would be bad for any potential transition to democracy.

“Because the money flowing into the country will provide the regime with those exact resources that they need to maintain their position,” said Ratzlaff. “The process that the Trump administration’s taken, it’s this three-pronged approach, right? Stabilization, recovery, and then the transition to democracy.

“The problem with that is of course, those first two legs also could help the regime maintain power by giving them a secure economic foundation to move forward with.”

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