Los Angeles Times
· collected 2026-09-07 · by Ana Ceballos, Mery Mogollón
-
Click here to listen to this article -
- The White House has said the sweeping oil deal between the U.S. and Venezuela would make elections ‘possible’ in a country long battered by economic and other problems.
asserted
elections → click → problems
President Trump and interim President Delcy Rodríguez, however, will not commit to when an election might be held.
uncertain
election → commit → ?
‘We were expecting elections,’ said one Caracas resident.
asserted
resident → expect → elections
‘This pact with Trump entrenched the dictatorship that he himself declared war on.’
asserted
he → entrench → war
President Trump has locked in a deal to develop Venezuela’s vast oil resources, an arrangement the White House says will bring a country battered by years of economic collapse to a “place where elections are possible.”
asserted
elections → lock → place
But the agreement — backed by acting President Delcy Rodríguez, a holdover from the Nicolás Maduro government that Washington deems “illegitimate” — is raising new uncertainty about how entrenched the unelected government may become.
uncertain
government → back → uncertainty
In January, when the U.S. military captured Maduro, Trump did not say how long a democratic transition would take but said Rodríguez was “gracious” and “essentially willing to do what we think is necessary.”
asserted
we → capture → Maduro
Asked by The Times on Wednesday what was stopping him from demanding Venezuela set a firm election date, Trump was blunt: “I just don’t think they are ready yet.”
asserted
they → ask → date
“It’s very new.
asserted
It → ’ → ?
We took them out of a dictatorship and we’re getting along great with the government,” Trump said.
asserted
Trump → take → government
But he said an election would happen “soon.”
asserted
election → say → ?
Under the deal, the U.S. government is partnering with an oil producer to create a new company, North American Blue Energy Partners, to develop 17 fields with a proven potential of 65 billion barrels.
asserted
government → partner → barrels
NABEP will have rights to the fields for 100 years.
asserted
NABEP → have → years
For many Venezuelans, the lack of urgency around elections — set against a deal that gives the United States majority control over roughly a third of the country’s oil reserves — is starting to feel like a broken promise.
asserted
that → set → promise
“They tell us we have to wait two years, maybe more, while in the meantime they do business with a government that wasn’t elected, that was imposed on us, and that we don’t want,” Carlos Pérez, a 23-year-old automotive mechanics student, told The Times.
asserted
Pérez → tell → Times
Antonio Marchetti, a 45-year-old plumber and electrician, said that while he sees the removal of Maduro as a “good thing,” the oil deal makes it seem as though Trump’s plans were those of a “cowboy, the invader John Wayne,” all along.
asserted
plans → say → cowboy
“We were expecting elections,” Marchetti said.
asserted
Marchetti → expect → elections
“This pact with Trump entrenched the dictatorship that he himself declared war on.
asserted
he → entrench → war
But to get rid of Maduro, he left the rest and did business with them.
asserted
he → rid → them
It disgusts me.”
asserted
It → disgust → me
The frustrations go beyond Venezuela.
asserted
frustrations → go → Venezuela
In Washington, Republican lawmakers have praised the oil deal, while calling Rodríguez an “interim dictator” who cannot be trusted.
asserted
who → praise → Rodríguez
María Corina Machado, the exiled leader of the Venezuelan opposition and a recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize, on Thursday raised her own worries about what the oil deal means for the future of Venezuela.
asserted
deal → exile → Venezuela
In a video message, Machado stopped short of criticizing Trump’s oil deal, but acknowledged concerns about a pact negotiated with an “illegitimate” government.
asserted
Machado → stop → government
“Venezuelans know that there can be no development without strong institutions and a government elected by popular vote,” she said.
asserted
she → know → vote
A plan in the works
Trump administration officials have characterized the deal as an economic lifeline that will eventually stabilize a country and prepare it for free and fair elections.
asserted
that → characterize → elections
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said last week that the United States is facilitating talks between Venezuela’s interim government and Dinorah Figuera, an opposition figure leading Venezuela’s 2015 National Assembly, the last democratically elected legislature recognized by the United States.
asserted
States → say → States
Broken pumps, rusted pipes, ghost towns mark Venezuela’s once vibrant oil hub.
asserted
pumps → mark → hub
It will cost billions to restore the industry.
asserted
It → cost → industry
Machado has been left out of those talks.
asserted
Machado → leave → talks
They are expected to resume in mid-September.
asserted
They → expect → September
Rubio says that for any election to be “credible,” the voting system will require an overhaul and political parties will need time to organize.
asserted
parties → say → time
Steps also must be taken to ensure the country has a free press.
asserted
country → take → press
Echoing Rubio’s comments, the White House said Friday that Trump wants elections held at the “right time,” but that his top priority is to bring Venezuela “back from the dead and rebuild the country after it was incompetently ruled by a nasty dictatorship.”
On Wednesday, while Energy Secretary Chris Wright visited Caracas, Rodríguez declined to set a firm date for an election, but added, “I have worked tirelessly to ensure that Venezuela is ready and prepared when the time comes for its electoral process, which will take place — have no doubt about that: There will be an electoral process.”
asserted
which → echo → that
The open-ended approach to holding an election, however, has drawn criticism from former Trump administration officials, who argue the lack of a timeline essentially lets Rodríguez govern indefinitely.
asserted
Rodríguez → hold → timeline
“Here’s my fear: It makes us Delcy’s partner, and gives the president a reason to want her to remain in power,” Elliott Abrams, who served as U.S. special envoy to Venezuela during Trump’s first term, told The Times.
asserted
who → ’ → Times
He contended that the White House so far appears to prefer a pliant interlocutor, and Rodríguez, he says, will do “whatever Trump tells her to do.
asserted
Trump → contend → her
If an election is to take place in Venezuela, a nine-month runway for preparation is likely to be expected, Abrams said.
asserted
Abrams → take → preparation
In Washington, some Republican lawmakers have continued to call for elections in Venezuela, arguing that Rodríguez cannot be trusted.
asserted
Rodríguez → continue → Venezuela
“The only way we will have a prosperous Venezuela is with the end of the murderous regime and the return of democracy,” Rep. Carlos A. Gimenez (R-Fla.) wrote on social media.
asserted
Gimenez → have → media
…and 25 more, not listed.
