Pentagon Inside Secret Venezuela Oil Deal

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VENEZUELA · OIL

The Venezuela oil deal with a US-backed company lacks transparency, opposition leader María Corina Machado said on Thursday 29 October 2026. The company, North American Blue Energy Partners (NABEP), gave the US government a 35% stake and a right to buy 20% of its oil.

That matters to US readers because the Pentagon now sits inside a Venezuelan oil contract whose full text is not public. The first cargo already reached Texas on Tuesday 27 October.

In Plain English

NABEP is a privately held oil company led by Venezuelan businessman Alejandro Betancourt, and it works several Venezuelan oil fields. The US government describes the arrangement as a strategic partnership with the company.

Machado is Venezuela’s best-known opposition leader and a Nobel Peace Prize winner. She returned home on Sunday 25 October, as our report on her return and the US talks explains.

Delcy Rodríguez has led the interim government since the United States captured former president Nicolás Maduro in January. Her government granted the oil rights at the center of the dispute.

What Happened at the Press Conference

Machado spoke on Thursday 29 October 2026 at a press conference in Caracas. She said the Venezuela oil deal “clearly does not reflect the levels of transparency that Venezuelan society wants.”

She added: “I do not know the contract, I have not seen it.” She said Venezuela and its allies need absolute transparency and that citizens should know every agreement made in their name.

Machado proposed a National Hydrocarbons Agency, a new public body that would set the institutional rules and guarantee transparency in the oil industry. She also said Betancourt is under investigation in several countries and that many Venezuelans partly blame him for the electricity crisis.

Those claims about Betancourt are Machado’s own, and neither the White House nor the Venezuelan government had answered them by Friday morning 30 October. The interim government has not published a direct reply to her call for an oil agency either.

What the Deal Says

The Venezuela oil deal was announced in a White House fact sheet on Monday 31 August 2026. It says Venezuela’s interim authorities granted NABEP 100-year concessions on 17 oil fields.

NABEP plans to invest up to US$100 billion in new oil infrastructure. The White House expects it to pay about US$200 billion in royalties and taxes over 25 years.

NABEP gave the Pentagon’s Office of Strategic Capital a 35% stake in its corporate parent, at no cost to US taxpayers, the White House says. The State Department can buy 20% of output at production cost and has first refusal on the other 80%.

The US government also holds a veto over any appointment to NABEP’s board, and most directors must be US citizens. The agreement is governed by US law and falls under US courts, and the White House says oil revenue runs through a US-managed, audited account.

Why Transparency Is the Core Dispute

A Venezuela oil deal under US law and US courts is hard for Venezuelans to read. Democrats in the US Congress have asked for the same papers, as our report on House Democrats demanding the deal documents shows.

The State Department gave senators copies of the agreement on Thursday 1 October, but House Democrats said the single document they received fell short. Whether the full text becomes public is still open.

What It Means for You

For US readers, the Venezuela oil deal makes the US government a part-owner and a buyer of Venezuelan crude. The first cargo of 1 million barrels reached Corpus Christi, Texas, on Tuesday 27 October, as our report on the first Venezuelan crude shipment describes.

Pump prices are unlikely to move quickly, because US refining capacity limits how much extra Venezuelan crude can reach drivers. Investors should watch whether Machado’s push for open contracts gains support, since it could shape how a later government treats long concessions.

What Is Not Known

The full text of the Venezuela oil deal is not public, and Machado says she has not seen it. Neither NABEP nor Betancourt has answered her claims about investigations.

It is not known whether Rodríguez’s government will reply to Machado or back her proposed hydrocarbons agency. It is also unclear when Venezuelans will vote, so no one can say when an elected government could review the deal.

More: Venezuela news in English, every day from The Rio Times.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which US-linked company is in the Venezuela oil deal?

It is North American Blue Energy Partners (NABEP), a privately held oil company led by Venezuelan businessman Alejandro Betancourt. The US government holds a 35% stake in its corporate parent through the Pentagon’s Office of Strategic Capital.

What does Machado object to in the Venezuela oil deal?

Machado says the agreement does not meet the transparency Venezuelans want and says she has not seen the contract. She proposes a National Hydrocarbons Agency to set open rules for the industry.

How has the Venezuelan government answered?

The interim government under Delcy Rodríguez had not published a direct reply by Friday morning 30 October 2026. It granted the concessions under Venezuela’s new hydrocarbons law, according to the White House.

Sources: White House, President Trump Secures the Biggest Oil Deal in World History, September 2026, September 2026; White House, fact sheet announcing the historic oil agreement, 31 August 2026, 31 August 2026.

This article was produced by The Rio Times’ automated newsroom system. How we use AI · Report an error · Editorial responsibility: Matthias Camenzind, Editor-in-Chief