Revealed: Secret Terms of Trump's Venezuelan Oil Deal Show Corporate Protections and Hidden Ownership
ProPublica obtained the 18-page strategic partnership agreement showing the deal grants the U.S. a 35% stake in a venture led by Venezuelan oligarch Alejandro Betancourt, with structural provisions designed to survive changes in political leadership.
What happened
In late August, President Trump announced a major oil deal with Venezuela. ProPublica reviewed the 18-page strategic partnership agreement signed by Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. The agreement grants the U.S. a 35% stake in North American Blue Energy Partners (NABEP), a firm controlled by Alejandro Betancourt and registered under a Barbados parent company. The deal gives the U.S. the right to purchase 20% of NABEP's oil at a discounted rate of $30 a barrel or less. The agreement establishes a seven-member board to govern the venture for an initial 15-year term and includes provisions designed to prevent future U.S. and Venezuelan leaders from dismantling the enterprise.
Context
The structure of this arrangement concentrates power in a small group while limiting transparency and oversight. The use of a Barbados-registered parent company obscures the identities of other investors and potential beneficiaries, raising questions about who will ultimately profit. The agreement's architectural features—the long board term, structural protections, and complex corporate layers—suggest an intent to insulate the deal from political changes on either side. Trump stated the deal would secure U.S. energy for a century, but according to ProPublica's review, U.S. purchasing rights expire in half that time. The agreement does not explicitly guarantee that Betancourt's company will pay the estimated $200 billion in royalties and taxes to Venezuela that the White House has said would benefit the country. The agreement does not account for the potentially significant cost of importing blending materials needed to make Venezuela's thick crude pumpable through pipelines.
What's disputed
Whether the blending costs will meaningfully impact production economics: NABEP's spokesperson states that much of the oil requires little or no blending materials and that 'barrel economics are strong,' while the agreement document reviewed by ProPublica does not account for these potentially significant import costs. The characterization of benefits to Venezuela is also contested: NABEP asserts the deal will stabilize the economy and attract investment, while the agreement text itself contains minimal provisions ensuring tangible benefits to the Venezuelan government or people.