Republican unease over President Donald Trump's Venezuela strategy surfaced over the weekend, as two prominent GOP lawmakers warned that a massive new oil agreement cannot replace the democratic transition Washington promised after Nicolás Maduro's capture.
Rep. María Elvira Salazar of Florida initially issued the sharpest criticism of the deal, while Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas called for Venezuela to hold free and fair elections no later than mid-2027. Their comments exposed a growing divide between Trump's focus on Venezuela's oil resources and Republicans who insist that removing Maduro was supposed to lead to democracy, not an indefinite partnership with his former vice president, Delcy Rodríguez.
Trump announced the agreement Friday night, calling it the "biggest oil deal in world history." According to the president, the arrangement gives the United States and private companies majority control over more than 65 billion barrels of Venezuelan oil reserves.
The agreement is expected to last 25 years and cover 17 existing oil fields, while eight additional blocks could eventually be developed. Rodríguez said it could generate approximately $209 billion for Venezuela and increase production to more than 1.5 million barrels per day, Reuters reported.
Trump also said Venezuelan crude would be used to replenish the United States' Strategic Petroleum Reserve and eventually help reduce fuel prices. However, Venezuela's damaged infrastructure will require years of investment, making any immediate effect on gasoline prices unlikely.
Salazar surprised many with her initial message on x: "Any oil 'deal' with Venezuela's interim regime has an expiration date: the day President Trump leaves the White House.
Venezuela's acting dictator is just buying time. The regime has stolen American investments before, and it will do it again the moment it can.
A lasting deal can only be made with a democratically elected government that respects the rule of law, protects private property, and is backed by strong democratic institutions.
No democracy. No lasting deal. Period. 🇺🇸🇻🇪"
#AHORA | Congresista María Elvira Salazar plantea su preocupación ante un acuerdo entre EEUU y Delcy:
— Orlando Avendaño (@OrlvndoA) August 29, 2026
- Cualquier acuerdo expira el día que Trump deja la Casa Blanca.
- Delcy Rodríguez solo está comprando tiempo. Hoy se porta bien, pero su naturaleza aparecerá después.
- Un… pic.twitter.com/O3vcYiL4GT
Soon after posting, Salazar's criticism was deleted. Hours later, she replaced that message with a more supportive statement.
"The U.S.-Venezuela oil deal is a great deal for the United States and the Venezuelan people," she wrote in her revised post on X, arguing that American investment offered Venezuela an alternative to years of exploitation by China.
Yet Salazar preserved the central warning from her original statement. She said Rodríguez was not the appropriate leader to guarantee the agreement's future and argued that only a democratically elected government, backed by strong institutions and free elections, could make such a long-term commitment sustainable.
Her reversal makes it inaccurate to describe Salazar as fully opposing Trump's deal. She supports its economic premise but disputes the legitimacy of the Venezuelan government signing it, which leaves her in a compromise position with her voters.
Salazar represents a very Cuban and Venezuelan area of Miami-Dade, two populations that have expressed anger and frustration over inflation, the permanence of the dictatorships in Caracas and Havana, and the increasing amount of detentions and deportations of their connationals, while in immigration processes.
Ted Cruz sets an election deadline
Cruz took a similar but more direct position Sunday. Appearing on NBC's "Meet the Press," the Texas Republican described the oil agreement as potentially "very positive" for American jobs, the economy and fuel prices. At the same time, he demanded free and fair Venezuelan elections by the middle of 2027.
"It is necessary to have democratic and free elections in Venezuela," Cruz said, rejecting the idea that economic cooperation with Rodríguez should postpone the political transition.
Cruz argued that the oil deal and elections could proceed simultaneously. His intervention reinforced a bipartisan Senate resolution he introduced in early August with Democratic Sen. Jeanne Shaheen.
That resolution, also supported by Republican Sen. Rick Scott of Florida, calls for elections, the unconditional release of political prisoners and guarantees allowing all political figures, including opposition leader María Corina Machado, to participate safely.
"The people of Venezuela deserve free, fair, and transparent elections," Cruz said when the measure was introduced, according to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
The Republican response is not yet a wholesale revolt against Trump. Cruz and Salazar both see economic value in the oil agreement, and Scott has not publicly rejected it. The break concerns what comes next.
