Rubio says oil deal aims to revive Venezuela and prepare for democratic elections

Marco Rubio presented the oil agreement involving the United States and Venezuela as more than a commercial arrangement. In an interview with journalist Sergio Novelli, the U.S. secretary of state said the operation forms part of a broader effort to recover Venezuela’s energy industry and prepare the ground for a future democratic transition.

“Obviously I participated and it is an important part of the transition and recovery of Venezuela. There is still much more to do, including the issues of democracy and elections. All of this works together,” Rubio said.

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Obviously I participated and it is an important part of the transition and recovery of Venezuela. There is still much more to do, including the issues of democracy and elections. All of this works together.

He stressed that the agreement is not directly with Venezuela’s interim government. Instead, it involves a private company working alongside the United States through the system currently in place. Washington hopes the arrangement will become a template for other investments in Venezuela’s energy sector.

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This is not really an agreement with the interim government. It is an agreement with a private company that is participating alongside the United States, obviously through the system that exists at this moment, and our hope is that this creates a model for other investments.

Rubio also addressed the selection of North American Blue Energy Partners, or NABEP, a company linked to Venezuelan businessman Alejandro Betancourt and set to benefit from the oil agreement. Asked about the due diligence process, Rubio said U.S. authorities checked the information available in their systems and found no open investigation against Betancourt.

“We investigated what we know in our system, and if this individual had been under investigation in the United States, we checked with all the authorities. There was no investigation against him within our system,” Rubio said. He also pointed to Betancourt’s reported support for parts of Venezuela’s opposition during the 2019 period associated with Juan Guaidó, while arguing that the current opportunity could ultimately benefit Venezuelans.

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We investigated what we know in our system, and if this individual had been under investigation in the United States, we checked with all the authorities. There was no investigation against him within our system.