Republican Rep. María Elvira Salazar performed a rapid reversal Saturday after initially criticizing President Donald Trump’s massive new oil agreement with Venezuela before deleting her posts and returning to praise the deal.
Salazar, a Florida congresswoman and longtime critic of Venezuela’s socialist regime, argued that any agreement struck under the current regime could not be trusted beyond Trump’s presidency.
“Any oil ‘deal’ with Venezuela’s interim regime has an expiration date: the day President Trump leaves the White House,” Salazar wrote on X.
She also warned that Rodríguez was simply “buying time,” arguing that the Venezuelan regime had previously seized American investments and could do so again.
“The regime has stolen American investments before, and it will do again the moment it can,” she wrote.
Salazar, who is known for her support for amnesty and illegal immigration, subsequently deleted both the English and Spanish versions of her post.
Around an hour later, however, the Florida congresswoman returned to X with a markedly different assessment.
“The U.S.-Venezuela oil deal is a great deal for the United States and the Venezuelan people,” Salazar declared.
“For years, China took advantage of Venezuela’s weakness to buy its oil at deep discounts.
”Now America is stepping in, and American investment and influence offer Venezuela a path toward prosperity, stability, and security.”
The U.S.-Venezuela oil deal is a great deal for the United States and the Venezuelan people.
For years, China took advantage of Venezuela’s weakness to buy its oil at deep discounts. Now America is stepping in, and American investment and influence offer Venezuela a path toward…
— Rep. María Elvira Salazar (@RepMariaSalazar) August 29, 2026
Salazar maintained her opposition to Venezuela’s current leadership, adding: “Delcy is the wrong person to make this deal with.”
She argued that the agreement should last far beyond Trump’s presidency, provided Venezuela establishes democratic institutions and holds free elections.
“We want this deal to last 100 years,” she wrote.
Trump announced the landmark agreement on Friday, saying the U.S. had negotiated with Rodríguez to give private American companies access to 65 billion barrels of proven Venezuelan oil reserves.
Trump said the agreement would come “at no cost to the American Taxpayer” and predicted it would significantly increase American oil supplies while helping drive down energy prices.
BREAKING: President Trump Announces Massive Oil Deal with Venezuela – “BIGGEST OIL DEAL IN WORLD HISTORY!”
Venezuela, meanwhile, said American companies would receive access to 17 oil fields, generating up to $100 billion in investment and more than $209 billion in tax revenue.
Rodríguez has served as Venezuela’s interim leader since January, following the capture and extradition of Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, by U.S. Special Forces.
Salazar did not explain why she deleted her original posts or what prompted her sudden change of tone.
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