The Venezuelan billionaire the US investigated for money laundering now has a Pentagon oil deal
CARACAS/MIAMI, Sept 5 - The billionaire who helped broker the Trump administration’s sweeping long-term oil deal with Venezuela was until recently a target of U.S. money-laundering investigations involving funds embezzled from the state-owned oil company PDVSA.
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who → investigate → company
Now, after assisting U.S. authorities ahead of the capture of authoritarian leader Nicolas Maduro, Alejandro Betancourt is Washington’s key partner in an unusual oil agreement with Caracas.
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Betancourt → assist → Caracas
According to last week’s announcement, the U.S. gains access to about one-fifth of Venezuela’s crude reserves for decades.
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U.S. → accord → decades
The Pentagon’s Office of Strategic Capital takes a 35% stake in North American Blue Energy Partners (NABEP), Betancourt’s company and a known crude producer in Venezuela.
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Office → take → Venezuela
The State Department gets the right to buy 20% of NABEP’s oil at cost, and preferential access to the remaining 80% of output.
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Department → get → output
The deal marks a striking change of fortune for Betancourt, who four people familiar with U.S. policy in Venezuela said was key to U.S. strategy and planning in the lead-up to the January 3 operation that removed former President Maduro from power and flew him to New York to face charges of drug-trafficking, which Maduro denies.
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Maduro → mark → which
Asked about the investigations of Betancourt, a U.S. official who declined to be named said most of the legal challenges were nearly a decade old — and that he currently has no legal problems in the United States.
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he → ask → States
NABEP’s record of pumping oil in Venezuela made Betancourt the best partner to help boost output under the arrangement, the official said.
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official → pump → arrangement
Reuters could not determine precisely when U.S. federal prosecutors paused their investigation into Betancourt or whether it came in exchange for his cooperation with the Trump administration.
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it → determine → administration
Sarah Chouraqui, NABEP’s lawyer, said Betancourt had a strong record of operating in complex energy markets.
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Betancourt → say → markets
“The allegations in question have been examined extensively by authorities in multiple jurisdictions, and no charges have been brought against him,” she said in an email.
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she → examine → email
Chouraqui did not address questions about his assistance to the Trump administration or his legal cases.
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Chouraqui → address → administration
INFORMATION THAT HELPED ENFORCE U.S. BLOCKADE
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THAT → enforce → BLOCKADE
In the months before Maduro’s capture, the billionaire provided information that helped enforce a U.S. naval blockade targeting sanctioned oil tankers operating in Venezuela, which led to the seizure or interdiction of more than a dozen vessels, according to the four people who spoke on condition of anonymity.
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who → provide → anonymity
He also facilitated negotiations with officials including Delcy Rodriguez, who became interim president after Maduro’s capture.
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who → facilitate → capture
The Venezuelan government did not respond to requests for comment.
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government → respond → comment
After Maduro’s removal, Betancourt’s role as a key intermediary continued, helping broker oil deals and other partnerships and continuing to assist communications between Washington and Caracas to kickstart Venezuela’s economy, according to seven sources.
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role → continue → sources
In January, Betancourt helped broker a key oil trading agreement that has led to the export of more than 135 million barrels of crude and fuel to the United States, Europe, India and the Caribbean so far, according to vessel monitoring data and six people with knowledge of the negotiations.
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that → broker → negotiations
That’s about half of all oil exports through the end of August.
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That → ’ → August
Reuters could not determine his exact role in the discussions.
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Reuters → determine → discussions
Betancourt has also popped in on meetings at Venezuela’s Miraflores presidential palace, according to two people familiar with the matter.
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Betancourt → pop → matter
He was also at Miraflores during this week’s visit by U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright, Wright told reporters, though Betancourt did not appear with Wright and Rodriguez at a signing ceremony for oil deals.
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Betancourt → tell → deals
Betancourt has been investigated in the United States, Spain and Switzerland but never indicted.
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Betancourt → investigate → States
Earlier this year U.S. federal prosecutors in Florida paused their investigation into Betancourt in connection with an alleged plan that involved embezzling over $1 billion from Venezuela’s state-owned oil company and laundering it through real estate in Miami and bank accounts in Malta and Switzerland.
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that → pause → Malta
Two of those people said U.S. prosecutors had been subsequently discouraged by supervisors from investigating Betancourt further.
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prosecutors → say → Betancourt
Prosecutors on the case were not given a rationale, four people familiar with the case said.
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people → give → case
After the investigation stalled, U.S. officials pressured the Swiss government to ease its inquiries into the tycoon, said four people familiar with the matter.
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people → stall → matter
Switzerland, which was also investigating Betancourt for money-laundering, dropped its request to extradite him from the United Kingdom in May, said the sources.
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sources → investigate → May
The Zurich Public Prosecutor’s Office declined to comment on whether the United States influenced the decision to withdraw its extradition request, but said the case against Betancourt was still proceeding.
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case → decline → Betancourt
"The extradition request was withdrawn because of particular aspects of UK extradition law, which we cannot discuss in detail,” the Office said.
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Office → withdraw → detail
“This step concerns only the extradition proceedings in the UK.
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step → concern → UK
The criminal proceedings against the accused are otherwise unaffected and will continue.
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proceedings → accuse → accused
The withdrawal was unusual, said Mark Pieth, a Swiss legal scholar and anti-corruption expert.
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Pieth → say → ?
“You would not do that if the case is continuing,” he said.
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he → do → that
The United Kingdom’s Home Office declined to comment.
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Office → decline → ?
A YOUNG GENERATION OF BUSINESS LEADERS
Betancourt is a prominent member of the so-called Bolichicos — a younger generation of business people who amassed fortunes during the administration of former Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez.
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who → call → Chavez
His company Derwick Associates won roughly $2 billion in government contracts to build power plants during the country's electricity crisis in the 2010s — some without competitive bidding — despite having little construction experience.
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company → win → experience
Government data later showed many of the plants operated at a fraction of their intended capacity or not at all, as Venezuela's power grid continued to suffer widespread blackouts.
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grid → show → blackouts
Betancourt and Derwick have repeatedly denied wrongdoing and said the facilities were completed and that later failures resulted from mismanagement by state authorities.
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failures → deny → authorities
Rodriguez told a press conference on Wednesday that all legal proceedings against Betancourt’s companies in Venezuela were dismissed years ago.
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proceedings → tell → Venezuela
…and 14 more, not listed.
The Aporia
