Alejandro Betancourt could scarcely travel outside his luxury London residences just months ago without facing extradition to Switzerland over allegations of embezzlement and money laundering. However, the Venezuelan business mogul now stands on the verge of becoming a central figure in what US President Donald Trump has termed “the biggest oil deal in world history.”
Trump’s Alleged Envoy?
Obtaining a clear picture of the agreement between Washington and Caracas is exceedingly difficult, as there is currently no publicly available text of the deal, according to Tom Long, a Latin America specialist at the University of Warwick. He added that the Venezuelan government is cautious about not publicly contradicting the expansive yet probably inaccurate claims circulating on social media. Nevertheless, the deal appears ambitious, granting the US the right to exploit nearly 20 percent of Venezuela’s proven reserves across 17 oil fields where production is expected to increase, explained Thomas Posado, a Venezuela specialist at the University of Rouen. This equates to roughly 65 billion barrels of oil. Venezuela’s Interim President Delcy Rodriguez stated that the agreement is anticipated to bring $100 billion in investments to her country. However, the practical implementation details and the reality of future investments remain highly ambiguous, Posado noted. The identity of Washington’s Venezuelan partner for developing the oil fields has not been officially confirmed, though US media outlets have identified the 46-year-old Betancourt as the new intermediary between Washington and the Venezuelan government. The Financial Times even went so far as to describe him as “Trump’s ‘viceroy’ in Venezuela.” Long noted that Trump is relying on Betancourt as “a key player in the Venezuelan oil sector who appears to have the trust of Delcy Rodriguez,” a position previously dependent on relationships with the state. Betancourt heads North American Blue Energy Partners (NABEP), Venezuela’s second-largest private oil producer. Investigations by Spanish-language media indicate that Rodriguez has consulted him on multiple occasions for advice on revitalizing Venezuela’s economy.
US and Venezuela seal 25-year oil deal
A Divisive Figure
Betancourt remains a highly controversial figure with a long list of scandals. He has been arrested twice in the United Kingdom, where he has resided for several years. The first arrest occurred in September 2025 at the request of Spanish authorities, who accused him of money laundering and tax offenses. He was released on bail, only to be arrested a second time two months later after Switzerland issued an international arrest warrant amid an investigation into alleged embezzlement from PDVSA, the Venezuelan state oil giant. He has never been formally charged in Venezuela, Switzerland, or Spain, and the US has reportedly persuaded Switzerland to allow him to travel freely, according to The Washington Post. However, his appointment has been poorly received by Venezuela’s opposition, The New York Times reported. While most acknowledge his genuine expertise in the oil industry, Venezuelan-born human rights activist Thor Halvorssen told the Financial Times that he is “a POS (piece of sh*t) that comes along only once per generation.”
The ‘Bolibourgeoisie’
In the eyes of many Venezuelans, Betancourt embodies the archetype of the “bolichicos,” or “bolibourgeoisie.” This term refers to Venezuelan businessmen whose immense wealth depends entirely on the goodwill and favors of the government, whether during the era of Hugo Chavez or Nicolas Maduro. “They are the upper echelons of the Venezuelan economy,” Long also observed. Betancourt initially built his fortune in the electricity sector. In the early 2010s, he founded Derwick Associates, which, without any prior experience, secured at least 11 government contracts worth approximately $5 billion to construct thermoelectric power plants without competitive bidding, noted the Spanish daily El Pais. He subsequently shifted his focus to Venezuelan oil before expanding into Spain, where he married in 2012. There, he built a small empire by investing in luxury real estate and local startups, according to El Pais. By allying himself with a remnant of Chavism by choosing this “bolichico,” Trump demonstrates that predation and access to Venezuela’s energy resources are his priorities rather than promoting a democratic transition, Posado argued.
US to control one fifth of Venezuela’s oil reserves, Trump says
A ‘Megalomaniacal Fantasy’
Whether Betancourt can help Trump quench his thirst for Venezuelan oil remains uncertain. According to the Financial Times, the objective would be to allow him to operate a sort of “mini-PDVSA,” capable of developing the 17 coveted oil fields much faster than the massive state-owned entity. However, the dream of accessing 65 billion barrels of oil is “a product of Trump losing grasp of reality and his megalomaniacal fantasies,” argued Aslak Orre, a Norwegian political scientist and Venezuela expert at the Chr. Michelsen Institute. He added that even if one managed to magically triple Venezuelan oil production to reach historically peak levels last seen in the 1970s, it would take exactly 50 years to extract 65 billion barrels. Essentially, experts suggest Trump’s promise is likely a publicity stunt aimed at convincing Americans that the US has found a solution to rising oil prices linked to the war in Iran. Ultimately, this agreement is most likely to benefit intermediaries like Betancourt.
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