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Venezuela’s military leadership backs U.S. oil deal, says it is not ‘subordination’
🇵🇾 Paraguay /Energy & Infrastructure

Venezuela’s military leadership backs U.S. oil deal, says it is not ‘subordination’

From ABC Color · () Spanish

Translated from Spanish and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

Newswire Official statement Approved/passed
  • Venezuela’s defense minister said the military leadership supports a 25-year oil agreement under which the United States will control more than 20% of the country’s crude reserves.
  • The Venezuelan parliament also backed the deal, which aims to increase production by 1.5 million barrels per day.
  • Officials said the agreement would generate employment and prosperity, while Venezuela expects to receive $209.335 billion based on a $65-per-barrel price.

Venezuela's military leadership has endorsed the country's oil agreement with the United States, rejecting the idea that the deal represents subordination.

Defense Minister Gustavo González López said the agreement reflected a decision “to pursue peace” after meeting interim President Delcy Rodríguez at the Miraflores presidential palace in Caracas. He said the military backed all decisions by the commander-in-chief to achieve prosperity.

Transforming a political difference into an economic cooperation agreement is simply a decision to pursue peace, it is not subordination. We fully agree and support all the decisions of our commander-in-chief, Delcy Rodríguez, to achieve prosperity.

— Gustavo González LópezVenezuela’s defense minister defended the agreement after meeting Delcy Rodríguez.

“Transforming a political difference into an economic cooperation agreement is simply a decision to pursue peace, it is not subordination,” González López said. He added that the deal would bring greater employment and production, describing it as “prosperity and well-being for the country, just as it is for us.”

If you asked me to describe this agreement in one word, it is prosperity and well-being for the country, just as it is for us.

— Gustavo González LópezHe described the expected benefits of the oil deal.

The Venezuelan parliament backed the agreement on Tuesday with support from lawmakers aligned with Chavismo and opposition dissidents. The deal will last 25 years and aims to add 1.5 million barrels to daily production. Miguel Pérez Abad, the lawmaker who presented the proposal, called it “the most important agreement of the last 100 years” because of its implications and scope. He said oil-related activity could generate about 3.6 million direct, indirect and additional jobs.

Washington and Caracas announced the agreement on Friday. Under its terms, the United States will control more than 20% of Venezuela's crude reserves. Rodríguez said the plan includes developing 17 strategic fields with a proven potential of 65 billion barrels. Using a reference price of $65 per barrel, she said Venezuela could receive $209.335 billion under the agreement.

The most important agreement of the last 100 years.

— Miguel Pérez AbadThe Venezuelan lawmaker characterized the deal during its parliamentary presentation.
About this summary

Originally published by ABC Color in Spanish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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