Venezuelan Opposition Party Demands Transparency and Safeguards in Oil Deal With U.S.

Venezuela’s opposition party Primero Justicia is not rejecting foreign investment in the oil industry. It is demanding to know who will control the money and how the public will be able to check the arrangement.

The party called for detailed information about the oil agreement announced by the United States and Venezuela. It questioned why a pact involving more than a fifth of Venezuela’s crude reserves was announced without all its terms, resource-management conditions and oversight mechanisms being made public.

“Because this is a large-scale agreement between two countries with implications for our future, we demand transparency, more information, accountability and verifiable guarantees,” Primero Justicia said in a statement. The party is part of the Democratic Unity Platform.

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Because this is a large-scale agreement between two countries with implications for our future, we demand transparency, more information, accountability and verifiable guarantees.

Primero Justicia said Venezuelans should know the conditions under which the agreement will operate, especially where the revenue from oil production will go. It said the country has the right to understand how the resources will be administered and how the benefits will reach the nation and its people.

The party said it supports investment that could revive production, create jobs and help recover Venezuela’s economy. But it argued that economic recovery must accompany institutional changes, legal certainty, controls and clear rules. It also renewed its call for a democratic transition and a “free” election, saying oil production alone cannot rebuild Venezuela’s institutions.

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