2026-10-01
Four Senate Democrats have sent a letter to Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Energy Secretary Chris Wright challenging the legality of the Pentagon's plan to take a passive 35% stake in North American Blue Energy Partners, a Venezuelan oil producer. The lawmakers, including Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D., N.H.), demanded the administration produce the deal's text and terms before it is finalized and questioned whether the Pentagon's Office of Strategic Capital has the authority to acquire equity in a foreign oil company. The letter lays the groundwork for a potential congressional investigation, though as members of the minority party the senators do not currently chair the relevant committees or have the power to call public hearings or issue subpoenas, and any formal probe would likely begin after November's midterm elections and be contingent on Democratic electoral success.
2026-09-23
President Donald Trump met Venezuelan interim President Delcy Rodríguez on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York on Tuesday, their first face-to-face meeting since the White House backed her to take over the South American country's government. Rodríguez succeeded Nicolás Maduro shortly after US forces conducted a raid on the Venezuelan capital Caracas and seized him, and the meeting took place a few kilometres from the New York jail where Maduro awaits trial on drug trafficking and other charges.
2026-09-03
NPR's Michel Martin interviewed former National Security Council director and Obama administration official Benjamin Gedan on September 3 about the viability of the Trump administration's plan for Venezuelan oil.
2026-09-02
A BBC News profile published Wednesday examines Alejandro Betancourt López, the 46-year-old Venezuelan businessman who heads North American Blue Energy Partners (NABEP), the Barbados-registered firm overseeing production and sale of 17 oil fields containing roughly 65 billion barrels of crude under a deal President Donald Trump has called "the biggest in history."
Born in Caracas in February 1980 and a graduate of Suffolk University in Boston, Betancourt has built an estimated $2.6 billion fortune across a network of about 50 companies in 16 countries, according to Transparency Venezuela.
The businessman has faced investigations in five countries and been detained twice in London in 2025, though he has never been charged and has denied wrongdoing.
2026-08-31
North American Blue Energy Partners, a Trump-backed Venezuelan oil company led by businessman Alejandro Betancourt, plans to deploy more than 50 drilling rigs to Venezuela over the next several years, according to internal documents reviewed by The Wall Street Journal. The plan represents the first detailed account of the Trump administration's deal to take a direct stake in some of the country's most valuable oil fields — a deal the Journal called controversial.
2026-08-29
President Donald Trump said in a social media post that the US has reached an agreement with Venezuela to take control of more than 65 billion barrels of the country's proven oil reserves, calling it a "Historic Transaction." A US official told CBS that the agreement grants a private joint venture a 100-year concession to operate in oil fields covering 63 billion barrels, with the US retaining 55% control. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the deal would bring nearly $100 billion in private investment to Venezuela and support thousands of high-paying jobs. Trump said the agreement with Venezuela's interim president Delcy Rodriguez was reached "at no cost to the American Taxpayer."