Opposition notes no democratic progress eight months after Maduro’s removal
Speaking to journalists on a Tuesday conference call, a US official said the deal would leave Venezuela’s government with a country “that is generating revenue that can be used to rebuild that country.” The arrangement, according to a White House factsheet released Monday, grants 100-year rights over the 17 fields to North American Blue Energy Partners (Nabep). The Guardian identified the company’s owner as “controversial Venezuelan businessman Alejandro Betancourt.”
The official said allowing Nabep to take over the fields would provide capital to “ramp up production rapidly.” That output would in turn “generate royalty revenue for the government—initially, the interim government for the time being—but ultimately for the republic, for the democratic elected government,” the official told reporters.
“We can hand over a more stable Venezuela,” the official said. “But no matter what, a democratically elected Venezuela is still going to face challenges after 20 somewhat years of the disaster of Chavismo and Maduro after the country was dismantled from the inside out, and it needs to be rebuilt. That’s going to take time. You don’t reverse 20 years of corruption, 20 years of kleptocracy, 20 years of no democracy, no freedom.”
The 17 fields covered by the deal were previously controlled by Chinese and Russian companies. The justification for assigning the fields came as Trump hosted oil refinery executives to discuss converting the crude into petrol and lowering prices for motorists at the pump. Trump announced the agreement last Friday, calling it “groundbreaking” and a “historic transaction” to fill the US strategic oil reserves.
On Tuesday, Venezuela’s national assembly, dominated by the ruling United Socialist Party, approved the pact after Venezuelan President Delcy Rodríguez defended it over the weekend. “The benefits are endless,” Rodríguez said.
Rodríguez, Maduro’s former vice-president, was backed by Trump following the US military operation that captured Maduro in January. Maduro was detained by US forces and taken to New York to face criminal charges after a raid on his Caracas residence in January.
The Trump administration has continued to work with Rodríguez despite her past vocal hostility to the United States, the Guardian reported, and despite opposition criticism that her prior government roles involved participation in what critics describe as crackdowns on political opponents. US officials have previously labeled the Maduro-era government as having stolen recent elections. Opposition critics have complained that the administration has made no effort to promote a democratic transformation or stage new elections since Maduro was detained.
Energy Secretary Chris Wright was scheduled to fly to Caracas on Tuesday to follow up on the deal. His trip comes against an economic backdrop shaped by Trump’s decision to go to war with Iran last February, after which Iranian forces closed the Strait of Hormuz—a waterway previously used for 20% of the world’s oil supplies.
Petrol prices now average about $4.10 a gallon compared with under $3 before the war, according to figures cited in the Guardian’s reporting. Rising fuel costs have filtered through the economy and contributed to significant drops in Trump’s popularity, with polls showing a majority of voters disapproving of his handling of the war and the economy.
The US official told reporters that talks between the Venezuelan government and the opposition were set to resume later this month. “The last thing we want to see is a new democratic elected government inherit a country in crisis,” the official said.