ExxonMobil eyes Venezuela return as reality tests Trump's oil deal promises

NPR | By Manuel Rueda,

Scott Simon

Published November 14, 2026 at 7:40 AM EST

ExxonMobil eyes a return to Venezuela as Trump continues to promise a historic oil deals – but what's the reality on the ground, 10 months after President Nicolas Maduro's departure?

Manuel Rueda

Scott Simon

Scott Simon is the host of Weekend Edition Saturday and is one of the hosts of NPR's morning news podcast Up First.

See stories by Scott Simon

Support nonprofit, fact-based public service journalism

WEKU depends on support from those who view and listen to our content. There's no paywall here. Please support WEKU with your donation.

Contribute now

Related Content

NPR News

Alaska voters aren't ditching ranked choice voting, top-four primaries

Ashley Lopez

This is the second time Alaskans voted down an effort to repeal the state's unique election system, which voters first approved in 2020. A repeal effort in 2024 also failed narrowly.
NPR News

Perspective: A new kind of White House press secretary

Scott Simon

With the White House press secretary job still left unfilled, maybe an AI assistant might be the answer?
Stuck in airports nationwide, stranded travelers share how they're coping

Scott Simon

People all over the country found themselves stuck in airports last night. We hear from some stranded travelers about how they're coping.
Former DOT inspector general Mary Schiavo on Friday's FAA ground stop

Scott Simon

NPR's Scott Simon talks to former Department of Transportation Inspector General Mary Schiavo about Friday's FAA communications crash and ground stop.
Telecom outage triggers rare nationwide FAA ground stop, stranding travelers

Joel Rose, Scott Simon

The rare nationwide ground stop, now lifted, paralyzed the U.S. air travel system Friday. Federal officials say telecommunication outages were to blame but offered few details.