The oil deal is designed to prevent future U.S. presidents and Venezuelan leaders from changing or dismantling the enterprise.
asserted
deal → design → enterprise
Some of the Trump administration’s partners could remain anonymous, hidden behind a parent company based in Barbados.
uncertain
Some → remain → Barbados
It could be many years before the company produces enough oil to be a statistically significant share for the United States.
uncertain
company → produce → States
These highlights were written by the reporters and editors who worked on this story.
asserted
who → write → story
In late August, President Donald Trump announced what he called the “biggest oil deal in world history.”
asserted
he → announce → history
Since then, the full text of the accord — which grants the U.S. sweeping access to Venezuela’s oil reserves — has been one of the most sought-after secrets in Washington, D.C.
ProPublica has reviewed a copy of the 18-page strategic partnership agreement signed for the United States by Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.
asserted
ProPublica → grant → Rubio
The document reveals carefully constructed terms that favor U.S. interests at every turn and cements the power of a small group of people handpicked by the Trump administration to govern and profit from the deal.
asserted
that → reveal → deal
One of the most criticized aspects of Trump’s announcement has been his choice of a partner: Alejandro Betancourt, a globe-trotting Venezuelan oligarch who has faced money-laundering investigations in three countries.
asserted
who → criticize → countries
The Trump administration is taking a 35% stake in Betancourt’s firm, North American Blue Energy Partners, by acquiring shares in a Barbados-registered parent company.
asserted
administration → take → company
The deal document provides little information about the owners and investors behind the parent company, who could receive enormous wealth from the arrangement.
uncertain
who → provide → arrangement
The agreement also safeguards Betancourt’s position as chief executive of NABEP and says the U.S. government will work with the parent company to appoint a powerful seven-member board to govern the venture for an initial 15-year term.
asserted
government → safeguard → term
Those aspects of the deal, according to people with knowledge of how it came together, were designed to prevent future U.S. and Venezuelan leaders from dismantling the enterprise.
uncertain
it → accord → enterprise
Orlando Alvarado, a name not disclosed by the Trump administration as a party to the accord, signed the agreement on behalf of the parent company, alongside Betancourt, Hegseth and Rubio.
asserted
Alvarado → disclose → Betancourt
Alvarado has held senior roles in multiple Betancourt businesses, including as chief financial officer of an energy firm that became embroiled in scandals a decade ago.
asserted
that → hold → scandals
According to the Miami Herald, federal prosecutors identified Alvarado as an unindicted co-conspirator in a scheme to embezzle money from Venezuela’s national oil company.
uncertain
prosecutors → accord → company
NABEP spokesperson Terry Wade said that “neither Mr. Betancourt nor Mr. Alvarado has ever been charged with any crime in any country, and any claims against them are baseless.”
Do You Know More About This Topic?
We’re still reporting.
uncertain
We → say → Topic
If you know more about this topic, please contact our reporting team.
asserted
you → know → team
I’m interested in talking to people who understand how members of the Trump administration, or their family members, are doing business, at home or abroad.
asserted
members → talk → home
Key aspects of the plan differ from the Trump administration’s public pronouncements.
asserted
aspects → differ → pronouncements
Trump has said the deal will secure America’s energy dominance for the next century.
asserted
deal → say → century
But the text indicates that U.S. purchasing rights expire in half that time and that the underlying operating rights appear to run afoul of Venezuelan laws limiting oil concessions to 25 years.
asserted
rights → indicate → years
The agreement does ensure the United States a deep discount from fair-market value on 20% of NABEP’s oil, as Trump has said.
asserted
Trump → ensure → oil
It does not, however, explicitly guarantee that Betancourt’s company is obligated to pay the estimated $200 billion in royalties and tax payments to Venezuela that the White House has said would benefit the country.
asserted
House → guarantee → country
There are also significant caveats related to Trump’s central selling point to Americans — that the deal will bring a gusher of low-cost oil imports.
asserted
deal → be → imports
The agreement gives the U.S. the right to purchase 20% of NABEP’s oil at a discounted rate of $30 a barrel, or less than a third of what oil has sold for in recent months, according to one of three supporting documents reviewed by ProPublica.
uncertain
oil → give → ProPublica
But this fee does not account for the cost of getting Venezuela’s oil out of the country.
asserted
fee → account → country
Much of Venezuela’s raw crude is so thick that it won’t flow through pipelines unless it is first blended with 20% or more of oil thinner products.
asserted
it → flow → products
Under the deal, the potentially significant cost of importing millions of barrels of those blending materials is not included in the price.
asserted
cost → import → price
The White House, the State Department, the Pentagon and the energy company NABEP all defended the agreement, saying in statements that their new public-private venture will provide meaningful and lasting economic benefits to both countries that cannot be captured in a legal document.
“This historic deal marks a major step toward stabilizing Venezuela’s economy after years of hyperinflation and almost no new investment, while more than doubling the United States’ oil reserves,” said White House spokesperson Taylor Rogers.
asserted
Rogers → defend → reserves
Wade emphasized that NABEP was chosen because of its track record of expanding oil production in Venezuela in recent years and that the agreement was between the company and the U.S. government, not Venezuela.
asserted
agreement → emphasize → company
“Thanks in large part to the agreement,” Wade said, “there is a surge in confidence about the future of Venezuela’s oil industry and, as a direct result, substantial new investments are flowing into the country.”
asserted
investments → say → country
He added that much of NABEP’s oil comes from fields that require little or no blending materials and that blending costs would not meaningfully impact the price of production.
asserted
costs → add → production
The newly revealed details of the agreement are nonetheless likely to raise more questions about whether the unorthodox marriage of the United States and a foreign energy baron can bring lasting benefits to either country — and which private parties might benefit along the way.
uncertain
parties → reveal → way
Trump’s oil deal is likely to face scrutiny in both the United States and Venezuela, especially if Democrats win one or both chambers in the midterm elections, according to former U.S. diplomats and congressional staff.
uncertain
Democrats → face → diplomats
“Question number one in a new U.S. Congress will be: Why Betancourt?” said former Ambassador James Story, who served as the top U.S. diplomat in Caracas from 2018 to 2023, in an interview.
asserted
who → say → interview
“Why did he get this deal?
asserted
he → get → deal
And was he involved in criminality?
asserted
he → involve → criminality
It seems reasonable to have a congressional hearing about those questions.”
asserted
It → seem → questions
In public comments, Delcy Rodríguez, who won the backing of the Trump administration to serve as Venezuela’s interim president, praised the accord as “historic.”
asserted
who → win → accord
She has asserted that Venezuela will retain sovereignty over its natural resources and defended the choice of Betancourt.
asserted
Venezuela → assert → Betancourt
…and 103 more, not listed.
The Aporia
