The Trump administration has approved an agreement granting the United States control over 17 Venezuelan oil fields containing approximately 65 billion barrels of crude oil. The arrangement involves North American Blue Energy Partners, a Barbados-registered company led by Venezuelan businessman Alejandro Betancourt López. The deal has generated significant attention due to both its stated strategic importance and questions surrounding the principal figure overseeing it.
Betancourt, age 46, was born in Caracas to a middle-class family and holds a degree from Suffolk University in Boston. His estimated net worth stands at approximately $2.6 billion. According to accounts from Venezuelan journalists tracking his career, Betancourt’s early business success stemmed largely from school connections established at Instituto Cumbres de Caracas, where he befriended individuals with family ties to government officials. In 2009, Betancourt and his cousin co-founded Derwick Associates, an engineering firm that received 12 government contracts worth $5 billion without competitive bidding. Anti-corruption organizations have alleged that several projects were either incomplete or poorly executed, with Transparency Venezuela estimating potential government overpayment of 138 percent on certain contracts. Betancourt’s legal representatives have rejected such accusations as politically motivated.
Beyond Venezuela, Betancourt has expanded his business interests internationally, acquiring a majority stake in the Spanish sunglasses company Hawkers in 2016 and acquiring banking entities in Switzerland and Africa. His current business network encompasses approximately 50 companies across 16 countries. However, his international activities have drawn investigative scrutiny. In 2013, a former US ambassador filed a lawsuit alleging Betancourt paid Venezuelan officials to secure contracts, though the case was dismissed five years later. More recently, judicial authorities in Spain, Switzerland, Andorra, and the US have initiated investigations related to alleged corruption and money laundering schemes. In 2025, British police detained Betancourt twice in London, with operations reportedly coordinated with Swiss prosecutors. Betancourt has not been charged and denies all allegations of wrongdoing.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio cited three factors justifying the selection of Betancourt as a partner: his demonstrated ability to produce oil, with Nabep reportedly generating approximately 180,000 barrels daily; his lack of active investigation by US authorities; and his support for Venezuelan opposition movements. Unlike certain Venezuelan entrepreneurs who prospered under Hugo Chávez’s government while maintaining ideological alignment, Betancourt and associates were characterized as pragmatically exploiting available business opportunities. Following political shifts, Betancourt cultivated relationships with opposition figures including Juan Guaidó, connections that facilitated engagement with US officials during the Trump administration’s first term.
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