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A series of developments involving the United States and Venezuela, principally focused on U.S. control of Venezuelan oil reserves and related investment and drilling initiatives.
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.
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.
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."