Trump and Delcy Rodriguez are doing business in the oil sector. But in Venezuela, there is no sign of a democratic transition

 “Someone is making decisions about our resources and on our behalf, without consulting us.” María Corina Machado, leader of the Venezuelan democratic opposition, had been reflecting on the situation for several days before speaking about the oil agreement between the United States and Venezuela, announced on 29 August. But on Thursday, in a video message posted on YouTube, she listed the questions about the agreement to which no member of the two respective governments has yet provided clear answers: “Who is signing it? And what exactly is being signed? Who is providing the funds? Who is offering the guarantees? How does all this benefit Venezuelans?” Machado, the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize laureate, made it clear: the United States “is the key partner Venezuela needs”, but “the enemies of the United States in Venezuela today are in Miraflores”, the presidential palace where Delcy Rodríguez, acting president and former deputy to the dictator Nicolás Maduro, is based. The democratic leader has questioned who signed that agreement – the text of which remains unknown despite numerous social media proclamations by President Donald Trump and Rodríguez – and the circumstances that led to the deal which, according to statements by the two heads of state, will ‘hand over’ to the United States – or, as Trump put it, ‘give to American taxpayers’ – reserves of 65 billion barrels over the next hundred years. But for Machado, “the wealth of our land does not belong to an illegitimate regime; it belongs to the Venezuelan people” and “there can be no development without solid institutions and without a government elected by popular vote”, which is empowered to sign any agreement concerning the country.

The Venezuelan economist and Harvard University professor Ricardo Hausmann has spoken out strongly along the same lines: “It is a corrupt scam that impoverishes millions of people to benefit the kleptocracies of Miraflores and Mar-a-Lago (Trump’s private residence, ed.). If Rodríguez is illegitimate, the agreement is null and void and does not bind the Republic.” According to announcements by the two governments and the accounts that have emerged so far, the agreement grants North American Blue Energy Partners (NABEP) 100-year concessions on 17 oil fields. The Pentagon, for its part, will receive a 35 per cent stake in the parent company. The US State Department will then be able to purchase 20 per cent of production at ‘cost’ – that is, by paying the extraction costs rather than the market price – whilst retaining a right of first refusal on the remainder of the crude oil. According to Hausmann, who was interviewed on Thursday by the Venezuelan journalist César Miguel Rondón – now in exile in Miami – the oil fields were awarded to Nabep, a company founded in 2024 and controlled by the Venezuelan tycoon Alejandro Betancourt López, without even an international tender. Furthermore, this was done without any ‘due diligence’ or checks on the organisation’s capital, technology or operational capabilities.

The Harvard professor, who served as Minister for Planning in 1992–93 under the government of Carlos Andrés Pérez, then launched a scathing attack on Secretary of State Marco Rubio, in whom he says he had long placed his trust – due to his Cuban background and his stated commitment to democracy – only to change his mind: “They’ve done a lot to take the oil away”, and “zero” when it comes to electoral matters. Since Maduro’s arrest in January, the economist noted, Rubio has been managing the dollars from Venezuelan oil exports by presidential decree. This is money that the Secretary had promised to administer for the benefit of Venezuelans, subject to an independent audit by KPMG. Yet, Hausmann said, in nine months Rubio has still not accounted for where it has gone. With regard to the White House’s promise to stabilise the economy first and then hold elections, he highlighted the country’s economic performance: in July alone, inflation rose by 19.9 per cent month-on-month according to the Central Bank (+534 per cent year-on-year), which attributes this to the severe earthquake in June. But for Hausmann, this is instead proof of a government that is taking in more revenue and continuing to print money, driving up prices which are eroding citizens’ wages.

Today’s Venezuela, Hausmann concluded, is “an American colony”. There are, as yet, no signs of progress on the democratic front.