In the long arc of nations trading sovereignty for survival, the Trump administration has announced what it calls the largest oil deal in history — a majority stake in 65 billion barrels of Venezuelan reserves, brokered through a post-Maduro interim government still finding its footing. The arrangement, channeling nearly $100 billion in private investment, reflects both Washington's enduring appetite for energy dominance and Caracas's diminished capacity to resist it. Whether this marks a new chapter in hemispheric partnership or a familiar story of asymmetric power dressed in the language of