The United States government is negotiating a significant participation in Venezuela's oil reserves through a possible partnership between the Department of Defense and Alejandro Betancourt López, a controversial energy sector investor who has become an important intermediary between the two countries.
The negotiations focus on up to 17 oil fields spread across Venezuela's main oil basins, according to people familiar with the matter heard by Reuters.
The Pentagon's Office of Strategic Capital (OSC) is pointed to as the possible agency responsible for overseeing the investment. Created in 2022 by the Joe Biden administration, the office emerged as part of an effort to develop critical technologies with the help of private capital. During Donald Trump's administration, the OSC has been used to address gaps in supply chains.
Alejandro Betancourt López is described as a magnate who has been accused of fraud and is involved in controversies related to business dealings in Venezuela, which makes the partnership potentially controversial for the Trump administration.
