The secret history of Trump's Venezuelan oil baron
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President Trump's historic Venezuelan oil deal revolves around a colorful and controversial man from Caracas with a long history of supporting U.S. interests — including the operation to remove former strongman Nicolas Maduro.
Why it matters: Alejandro Betancourt, 46, runs the oil company that's entering into an unprecedented partnership with the Pentagon. It gives America access to some of Venezuela's vast oil fields at a time when U.S. reserves are low.
Inside the room : As Trump demanded Maduro leave Venezuela last year, Betancourt played a crucial role feeling out Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodriguez on whether she would run the government as replacement.
On Jan. 3 , when the U.S. military seized Maduro, Claver-Carone was communicating via phone with Betancourt, who was also communicating with Rodriguez.
The backstory: Betancourt's relationship with the U.S. government began in Trump's first term, when Claver-Carone was the director of Western Hemisphere affairs for the National Security Council and the administration declared Maduro an illegitimate president.
Friction point: Maduro survived that U.S.-backed ouster effort. Betancourt fled. Maduro ordered his arrest and seized his assets and his oil company.
The intrigue : Betancourt faced a problem from the U.S. in 2019, when Maduro was after him — an international $1.2 billion money-laundering investigation that led to a federal indictment of his cousin and other Venezuelans in Miami.
This spring , in a series of phone calls, U.S. officials — including then-Attorney General Pam Bondi — suggested Swiss authorities hold off on the investigation because Betancourt is such an important foreign-policy figure, the Washington Post reported .
In one call, a top Justice official sounded surprised when Swiss officials said that case was in its early stages.
Behind the scenes: Betancourt, Rodriguez and officials from the State Department and the Pentagon's Office of Strategic Capital had a handshake agreement on the oil deal by mid-August. Under its terms, officials say:
The other side : Energy experts have criticized the deal as potentially unworkable and unlikely to lower gas prices anytime soon.
Betancourt's attorney, Jon Sale, said his client has been unfairly maligned.
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