Venezuelan billionaire lands pentagon-backed oil deal amid past money-laundering probe
The arrangement gives the State Department preferential access to 20% of NABEP’s output and follows Betancourt’s role in brokering more than 135 million barrels of exports.
- President Donald Trump's administration struck a sweeping oil arrangement with Venezuelan entrepreneur Alejandro Betancourt, securing a 35% stake in his company, North American Blue Energy Partners, to manage Venezuelan crude reserves.
- Betancourt emerged as a central U.S. partner after providing intelligence that assisted the January 3 operation removing former President Nicolas Maduro, despite facing earlier international money-laundering investigations.
- Federal prosecutors in Miami paused their investigation into Betancourt in recent months, with sources alleging pressure from Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche; the Justice Department called such claims a "complete fabrication."
- The Pentagon's Office of Strategic Capital gains a 35% stake in NABEP, while the State Department secures the right to purchase 20% of oil at cost with preferential access to the remaining 80% of output.
- Former Trump official Elliott Abrams criticized the alliance, calling Betancourt "the most shadowy and repellent Venezuelan businessman," though administration officials defend him as a "proven operator" essential for energy assets.
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TerraThe billionaire who helped broker the Trump government's comprehensive long-term oil deal with Venezuela was, until recently, the target of U.S. investigations into money laundering involving diverted funds from the state oil company PDVSA. Now, after collaborating with the U.S. authorities before the capture of authoritarian leader Nicolás Maduro, Alejandro Betancourt is Washington's main partner in an unusual oil deal with Caracas. According t…
The Pentagon Oil Fund. The US Department of Defense is turning into a multinational resource fund and is directly entering the South American bowels
The Pentagon Oil FundThe US Department of Defense is turning into a multinational resource fund and is directly entering the South American bowels.The main beneficiary and shadow operator of large-scale agreements on Venezuelan oil is now the American...
The Venezuelan billionaire the U.S. investigated for money laundering now has a Pentagon oil deal
Now, after assisting U.S. authorities ahead of the capture of authoritarian leader Nicolas Maduro, Alejandro Betancourt is Washington’s key partner in an unusual oil agreement with Caracas.
The Power Broker: How Alejandro Betancourt Shaped U.S.-Venezuela Oil Ties | Science-Environment
Alejandro Betancourt, once investigated for money laundering, has become a key figure in U.S.-Venezuela oil relations, mediating significant deals following the capture of Nicolas Maduro. His company, NABEP, now partners with the Pentagon. Legal probes against him have paused, raising concerns among former officials.
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