Who is the fixer Betancourt, who mediated between Trump and Caracas?

Before he was even 30, Alejandro Betancourt became a billionaire thanks to eleven contracts, awarded without a tender process, for the construction of thermoelectric power stations, which Hugo Chávez’s regime had granted him. Now aged 46, he is the man US President Donald Trump is using to get his hands on Venezuelan oil. Those contracts, awarded to his newly founded company, Derwick Associates, were worth five billion, with a mark-up of at least 2.9 billion, according to estimates by Transparencia Venezuela. Many of these plants have, in fact, never become operational, and much of Venezuela has to survive without electricity for several hours a day. The son of a musician and a jewellery designer, Betancourt was a typical example of that generation of up-and-coming young men who took advantage of the regime and were dubbed ‘bolichicos’: the Bolivarian ‘boys’ (chicos). Now, according to Axios, his company, North American Blue Energy Partners (NABEP), is the mysterious private partner in the joint venture which, according to Trump, will serve to ‘top up’ US strategic reserves.

And this is despite the fact that, in theory, Articles 12, 302 and 303 of the Venezuelan Constitution reserve ownership of hydrocarbons for the nation and control of the oil industry for the state. While the government, heir to Chavista anti-imperialism and anti-Americanism, is handing this resource over to the United States, it is the opposition—already accused of being in Washington’s pocket—that is opposing it. First and foremost among them is María Corina Machado. A U.S. official explained to Axios that, without Betancourt, Maduro would probably still be in power. Indeed, it was he who played a key role in assessing Vice-President Delcy Rodríguez’s willingness to lead the government in the president’s stead, following his arrest by U.S. Special Forces. At the same time, he is said to have maintained regular contact with the White House’s unofficial representative for Venezuela, Mauricio Claver-Carone.

The relationship between Betancourt and the U.S. government is said to date back to the time of Juan Guaidó, when Betancourt allegedly attempted to act as an intermediary between the opposition to Maduro and high-ranking political and military figures, with a view to achieving a democratic transition. He did not succeed, but he did establish himself as a trusted interlocutor, despite a chequered past. He is in fact under investigation in both Spain and Switzerland, accused of bribing three officials of the Venezuelan state-owned oil company PDVSA with 42 million dollars to embezzle 4.85 billion. Following an extradition request from the Canton of Zurich, he was confined for eight months to two residences in the United Kingdom – one in Chelsea and the other in Oxfordshire – between which he travelled by helicopter. However, thanks to pressure from Washington, the measures were lifted in May, enabling Betancourt to make two trips to Venezuela, in June and July, on private jets, accompanied by his family, business partners and investors.

Betancourt left Venezuela after 2010 to move to Spain, where he married and built a financial empire, the flagship of which is the Hawkers eyewear brand, a huge online seller. According to sources cited by Axios, the preliminary oil agreement between Betancourt, Delcy Rodríguez and White House representatives was reportedly reached in mid-August. Venezuela will receive between 16 and 40 per cent of production, depending on the oilfield, in addition to income tax. Nabep is said to have secured 100-year concessions from the Caracas government for 17 oilfields, and will then transfer a 35 per cent equity stake to the Office of Strategic Capital, which reports to the Department of Defence. The State Department will have the right to purchase, ‘at cost price’ – which amounts to around $30 per barrel compared with a market price of $90 – a guaranteed 20 per cent of production from current and future fields managed by Nabep, to be used to replenish the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, meet military requirements and for other sensitive uses. Washington will also have preferential rights to purchase the remaining 80 per cent of production and will have the power of veto over the appointment of Nabep’s board of directors, the majority of whose members must be US citizens. Furthermore, the United States would not be investing any money in the agreement.