White House Pushes Corporate Plunder of Venezuela’s Oil with Military Stake
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The Trump administration has unveiled a plan that hands over Venezuela’s vast oil wealth to a private U.S. firm, North American Blue Energy Partners, with the Pentagon grabbing a 35% stake and the State Department securing rights to cheap oil. Critics say this is a blatant example of imperialist resource extraction and corporate profiteering at the expense of the Venezuelan people.
In a move emblematic of U.S. imperialism and corporate greed, the White House announced a new agreement that allows North American Blue Energy Partners (NABEP), a private company, to seize control of 17 Venezuelan oil fields containing an estimated 65 billion barrels—about one-fifth of Venezuela’s proven reserves. The deal outrageously grants the U.S. Defense Department a 35% ownership stake in NABEP, while the State Department is given the right to purchase 20% of the company’s output at cost, along with first refusal on the rest.
NABEP, led by Venezuelan oligarch Alejandro Betancourt, boasts of being the country’s second-largest private oil producer, currently extracting over 200,000 barrels per day, and now aims to ramp up production to over a million barrels daily, further entrenching foreign control over Venezuela’s resources.
“Venezuela is blessed with an abundance of natural resources, hardworking people and untapped potential,” Betancourt said, cynically thanking President Trump and interim Venezuelan President Delcy Rodríguez for facilitating this handover of national wealth. Rodríguez, speaking to supporters, set a goal of exceeding 1.5 million barrels per day within a 25-year framework, signaling long-term foreign exploitation.
The White House claims NABEP will invest up to $100 billion in new oil infrastructure, insisting the arrangement won’t cost U.S. taxpayers. The administration shamelessly argues that the deal will boost U.S. oil supplies, lower energy prices, and refill the Strategic Petroleum Reserve—ignoring the cost to Venezuelan sovereignty and the environment.
Industry analysts warn that Venezuela’s heavy, sour crude and decaying infrastructure mean U.S. consumers may not see lower gasoline prices for years, if ever. Meanwhile, some U.S. and Venezuelan politicians have condemned the deal, with Democratic Sen. Jack Reed denouncing the Pentagon’s involvement as “a blatant abuse of power and taxpayer dollars.” This agreement stands as a stark example of U.S. interventionism and the prioritization of corporate and military interests over those of ordinary people.