The Trump administration announced a deal with Venezuela on Friday under which the Pentagon will acquire a 35% passive equity stake in NABEP, the private company developing Venezuela's oil fields, for what has been described as a nominal 'token' warrant with no real payment.

The arrangement covers reserves estimated at around 65 billion barrels. Supporters argue it secures strategic energy access and provides a path to unlock development of the fields.

Critics, however, say the deal effectively bypasses Venezuela's 1999 constitution, which reserves control of the country's natural resources to the state, and have denounced it as a repeat of 'neocolonialism'.

Legal experts noted the unusual structure of a Pentagon equity stake in a foreign oil developer and questioned its compatibility with Venezuelan constitutional and regulatory frameworks.

Venezuelan officials have not issued a definitive public response, and observers said the deal could face legal and political challenges on both sides.