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The White House put out a Fact Sheet about the "biggest oil deal in world history" that Donald Trump did with Alejandro Betancourt. We would encourage readers to save a copy of the original version published for future reference. Said Fact Sheet raises a number of questions:
1) "President Donald J. Trump has secured U.S. majority control of more than 65 billion barrels of proven oil reserves in Venezuela..." How exactly did Donald Trump arrive at that "65 billion barrels of proven oil reserves" figure? Proven by who? When? Has that number been independently verified? Can Venezuelans and Americans have a look at the source of the information?
2) "...gives the U.S. government powerful governance rights, economic ownership, and guaranteed low-cost off-take from a new private Venezuelan oil champion, which will be the second-largest private oil company by reserves in the world". The U.S. government will have governance rights and economic ownership over who / what exactly: Alejandro Betancourt, who is Venezuelan by birth, or NABEP, his Barbados incorporated shell?
3) "In connection with this agreement, the Venezuelan interim authorities have granted North American Blue Energy Partners (NABEP), a privately held oil company that is the second-largest private Venezuelan oil producer and a proven operator, 100-year concessions for 17 oil fields with proven reserves of approximately 65 billion barrels." By existing and current laws, the Venezuelan interim authorities have no right or power to do that.
4) "...NABEP has granted the U.S. Department of War’s Office of Strategic Capital a 35% equity stake in its corporate parent..." Who is NABEP's corporate parent?
5) "...NABEP has granted the U.S. Department of State the right to purchase, at production cost, a guaranteed 20% of the off-take from all current and future fields NABEP will operate..." See point 3. NABEP has no legal right / legal power to do that under existing and current Venezuelan laws.
6) "...NABEP has also granted the U.S. Department of State the right of first refusal to purchase the remaining 80% of its production..." See point 3. NABEP has no legal right / legal power to do that under existing and current Venezuelan laws.
7) "The U.S. government has a veto power over the appointment of any member of the board of directors, and a majority of NABEP’s board of directors must be U.S. citizens. NABEP will have reputable U.S. auditors, lawyers, and advisors and the U.S. government’s agreement with NABEP is governed by U.S. law and is subject to the jurisdiction of U.S. courts." Where can Venezuelans and Americans have a look at the documents that govern NABEP's relations with the U.S. Department of War’s Office of Strategic Capital and U.S. Department of State? What due diligence did the U.S. Department of War’s Office of Strategic Capital and U.S. Department of State specifically do with the U.S. Department of Justice and with the U.S. Department of the Treasury to select NABEP? Which other companies / individuals did the U.S. Department of War’s Office of Strategic Capital and U.S. Department of State look at before this announcement was made? Who are the current members of NABEP's board of directors? What due diligence did the U.S. Department of War’s Office of Strategic Capital and U.S. Department of State do on them? Who are the U.S. citizens currently sitting in NABEP's board? Who are the "reputable U.S. auditors, lawyers, and advisors" currently retained by NABEP? How exactly, from a strictly legal and jurisdictional point of view, does an agreement between the U.S. government and a Barbados company submit operations in Venezuela to the jurisdictions of U.S. courts, specially considering the illegality of the announced agreement between the parties, as per current and existing Venezuelan law?
8) "This groundbreaking privatization and investment in Venezuela’s energy sector is a key step in the Trump Administration’s three-part plan of stabilization, reconstruction and democratic transition." The Trump administration does not have the legal right / legal power to privatise anything related to Venezuela's energy sector. See point 3. Where can Venezuelans and Americans have a look at the documents / policy that governs the alleged stabilization, reconstruction and democratic transition?
9) "NABEP has developed an ambitious plan to rapidly scale production by investing up to $100 billion in new oil infrastructure in Venezuela..." Considering the public interest in the management of oil reserves that, by law, belong to Venezuela, where can Venezuelans and Americans have a look at NABEP's ambitious plan? What due diligence was done on the source of NABEP's investment funds? Which other investment plans were considered by the U.S. Department of War’s Office of Strategic Capital and U.S. Department of State before the announcement was made?
10) "NABEP’s concessions are governed by Venezuela’s new hydrocarbons law..." No, they are not (point 11), see also this with respect to courts and jurisdiction. Articles 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7... of the new Hydrocarbons Law do not include the legal allowances that could permit the agreement announced. Why is the White House publishing false and inaccurate information about NABEP's concessions?
11) "...NABEP will pay an expected $200 billion in royalty and tax payments over the first 25 years..." To which U.S. Federal Agency or institutions are payments to be made? Who will monitor payments? Considering time frame, what oversight will be implemented for accountability purposes with U.S. Congress and Venezuela's Congress?
12) "By investing in a proven private operator with a track record of scaling production in the country..." How many "proven private operator"/s were considered by the White House before the announcement? What considerations were taken in terms of track record? Was Chevron, or any other IOCs offered the deal? Who will be investing? Who will vet investors? What due diligence will the U.S. Department of War’s Office of Strategic Capital and U.S. Department of State do on new investors? Where will Venezuelans and Americans be able to have a look at new investors?
13) "The U.S. government’s robust governance and audit provisions, along with the Trump Administration’s banking reform, payment oversight and financial monitorship, will ensure tax and royalty payments are spent in the interests of the Venezuelan people." Where can Venezuelans and Americans see documentary evidence and records pertaining disboursements to Venezuela already made by the Trump Administration according to the "U.S. government’s robust governance and audit provisions"? Which U.S. Federal Agency is providing / will provide "robust governance and audit provisions"? Which U.S. Federal Agency is providing / will provide "payment oversight and financial monitorship"? Where can Venezuelans and Americans be able to obtain information in these respects?
14) "The United States is sponsoring reconciliation talks between the 2015 National Assembly and the interim authorities..." Why has the United States purposely excluded Venezuela's leading opposition figure, Maria Corina Machado, from "reconciliation talks"? What selection process moved the Trump Administration to exclude Maria Corina Machado? How can "reconciliation talks" be had between unrepresentative parties without popular mandates?
15) "The majority of the incremental oil fields to be operated by NABEP were previously controlled or operated by Russian and Chinese firms, or by corrupt cronies of Maduro and Chavez. These malign foreign actors looted Venezuela’s resources for the benefit of American adversaries like Cuba, Russia and China and failed to invest in Venezuela’s infrastructure or development." Is the U.S. government along with the Trump Administration aware of NABEP's CEO Alejandro Betancourt long standing partnership with Boris Ivanov, Vladimir Shvarts and with Vladimir Anisimov? Why did the Trump Administration decided to disregard "corrupt cronies of Maduro and Chavez" that the U.S. Department of Justice has been investigating for over a decade? Alejandro Betancourt, NABEP's CEO, is directly involved in several investigations launched by U.S. Department of Justice. Betancourt was arrested twice in London, on international arrest warrants issued by Spain and Switzerland, on MLAT requests by U.S. law enforcement. Betancourt's hunting castle in Spain was raided by the police. Betancourt's partner Francisco Convit still remains in fugitive status, as per DoJ records. His other partner Francisco D'Agostino was arrested in Italy in early 2026. Yet other partners, like Alvaro Ledo Nass, have been indicted, charged, have had their assets seized, and have pleaded guilty to DoJ. Until early 2026, Betancourt was still the subject of DoJ, El Dorado Task Forces (HSI, ICE) and other Federal Agencies criminal investigations. Betancourt's accounts in Switzerland were frozen in early 2026. Spanish authorities are still investigating him. Yet the Trump Administration has repeatedly instructed different United States Attorney Generals (Bill Barr, Pam Bondi and Todd Blanche) to intervene in active criminal investigations to protect Betancourt, perhaps the biggest of "corrupt cronies of Maduro and Chavez." Betancourt is explicitly named in connection to "corrupt cronies of Maduro and Chavez" in a pending extradition request to Spain sitting in the archives of Venezuela's Supreme Court. How can the White House pretend that the illegal partnership (as per existing Venezuelan law) between the U.S. Department of War’s Office of Strategic Capital and U.S. Department of State and NABEP is any different from the claimed "corrupt cronies of Maduro and Chavez" and "malign foreign actors" that "looted Venezuela’s resources", considering the documented evidence of Betancourt's criminal activities gathered by the very U.S. government and by Venezuelan courts?
16) "By working with both new and old partners, President Trump’s Administration is forging new robust, strategic and defensible supply chains..." Is this official admission that Betancourt is both a new and old partner, considering his participation in the botched attempt to remove Maduro during the Trump's first administration? Trump's propaganda tool confirms it.
