The Biggest Oil Deal or Theft at Gunpoint? U.S. Claims Majority Control of Venezuela’s Oil Reserves

Key Points:

• The U.S. government, under President Trump, announced a deal granting majority control over more than 65 billion barrels of Venezuela’s proven oil reserves to the U.S., with the Pentagon taking partial ownership in North American Blue Energy Partners, a private firm involved in the deal.
• Venezuela’s interim President Delcy Rodríguez defended the agreement, stating it will bring production, employment, infrastructure investment, and higher state revenues through a 25-year binational project targeting over 1.5 million barrels per day.
• Critics, including Senator Chris Van Hollen and economist Francisco Rodríguez, argue the deal is unfavorable to Venezuela, lacks transparency, bypasses constitutional approval by the National Assembly, and involves controversial Venezuelan businessman Alejandro Betancourt.
• Francisco Rodríguez highlighted that the deal includes unprecedented 100-year concessions, which Venezuela has never granted before, and warned that the promised $100 billion investment has no clear source, suggesting Venezuela is effectively coerced into the agreement.
• Human Rights Watch’s Ken Roth described the deal as a "military theft," noting that Venezuelan officials under threat of arrest are unlikely to negotiate fairly, raising concerns about the legality and ethics of the U.S. action.