President Trump on Tuesday welcomed the first tanker of Venezuelan crude to reach the United States under his August energy deal with Caracas, telling a crowd at the Port of Corpus Christi, Texas, that the shipment marked “the greatest oil victory in history,” according to video of his remarks posted on X.
A White House official told the New York Post that the tanker carries one million barrels of oil “provided to the United States for free, at no cost to the taxpayer,” and that “this will be the first of the billions of barrels to come from this deal.” The Post reported that Secretary of State Marco Rubio was set to join the president for the visit.
.@POTUS announces the arrival of the first 1M barrels of free oil from Venezuela as part of the largest oil deal in history.
"This historic win gives us control over a massive part of the world's oil supply… It will be refined here in TEXAS—including right here in Corpus… pic.twitter.com/L3PC7Yd05R
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) October 27, 2026
“You see that little ship out there? One million barrels of oil from Venezuela,” Trump said, according to a clip of the speech shared on X. “To the victor belong the spoils, right?”
A deal months in the making
The shipment is the first Venezuelan oil tanker to arrive in the United States since the two countries reached a major energy agreement in August, according to the New York Post, which reported the White House official describing it as the first of many.
The White House’s Rapid Response account quoted Trump telling the crowd that the deal “gives us control over a massive part of the world’s oil supply” and that the crude “will be refined here in TEXAS.” Trump also told the crowd the Port of Corpus Christi has had its busiest nine months on record under his administration, the account reported in a separate post.
The 51st state, again
Trump also revived an idea he has raised before. Speaking about U.S. oil investment in Venezuela, he suggested the country could one day become the 51st state and elect a governor instead of a president, according to video of the remarks posted by Fox News on X.
It is not the first time. Fox News reported in May that Trump told the network he was “seriously considering” making Venezuela a state, citing an estimated $40 trillion in oil, and that he had posted “STATEHOOD, #51, ANYONE?” on Truth Social in March. Fox News also noted that statehood would require approval from Congress and consent from Venezuela, which Venezuelan leader Rodriguez said would never happen.
Why it matters a week out
The event lands one week before the November 3 midterm elections, as Republicans try to hold their majorities in Congress. According to the New York Post, Trump was scheduled to head to Lubbock, Texas, after the port visit for a rally ahead of the midterms.
For a White House that has made energy prices a central campaign argument, a tanker of free crude docking in Texas is the kind of picture it wants voters to see. Whether the “billions of barrels” promised by the administration materialize on schedule will be the next test.
Sources
- New York Post
- Fox News
- Rapid Response 47 on X
- Speech clip on X
- Fox News on X
- Rapid Response 47 on X (port remarks)
Sources cited
- https://nypost.com/2026/10/27/us-news/trump-rubio-expected-to-greet-first-shipment-of-1-million-barrels-of-venezuelan-oil-arriving-in-texas-post-deal-with-us/
- https://www.foxnews.com/politics/trump-seriously-considering-plan-make-venezuela-40-trillion-oil-permanent-part-usa
- https://x.com/RapidResponse47/status/2115169881977155917
- https://x.com/Acyn/status/2115168482807750943
- https://x.com/FoxNews/status/2115170647512846825
- https://x.com/RapidResponse47/status/2115172682006237589
Sources
- Original post: Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) on X, Oct 27, 2026
Posts on X are shown as published by their authors; claims in them are attributed, not independently confirmed unless the article says so. If an embedded post does not load, these links open the originals.