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The administration enlists Alejandro Betancourt to engineer a massive oil deal with Venezuela

The administration announced a plan to secure U.S. control over 65 billion barrels of Venezuela’s oil reserves through a partnership with the company led by Alejandro Betancourt. This move follows the closure of a decade-long federal investigation into Betancourt, a Venezuelan businessman who was previously linked to a billion-dollar money laundering scheme involving the state-owned oil company PDVSA. While Betancourt was never personally charged with a crime, he was identified as a co-conspirator in transactions that led to charges against his cousins. The administration and Secretary of State Marco Rubio defended the decision to work with Betancourt, noting that he was thoroughly vetted and had no active investigations against him in the U.S. system. The deal was first proposed during the first term of President Trump, though it was not implemented at the time because the administration supported opposition leader Juan Guaidó. Following the arrest of Nicolás Maduro in January, officials turned to Betancourt to help negotiate with the remaining Venezuelan government led by Delcy Rodríguez. The White House described the agreement as a historic step toward stabilizing Venezuela’s economy.

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