CARACAS — The billionaire who helped broker the Trump administration’s sweeping long-term oil deal with Venezuela was, until recently, targeted in U.S. money laundering investigations involving funds embezzled from the state-owned oil company PDVSA.
After assisting U.S. authorities ahead of the capture of authoritarian leader Nicolas Maduro, Alejandro Betancourt is Washington’s key partner in an unusual oil agreement with Caracas.
According to President Donald Trump’s recent announcement, the U.S. gained access to about a fifth of Venezuela’s crude reserves for decades. The Pentagon’s Office of Strategic Capital will take a 35% stake in North American Blue Energy Partners, Betancourt’s company and a known crude producer in Venezuela. The State Department gets the right to buy 20% of NABEP’s oil at cost, and preferential access to the remaining 80% of output.
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The deal marks a striking change of fortune for Betancourt, who four people familiar with U.S. policy in Venezuela said was key to U.S. strategy and planning in the lead-up to the Jan. 3 U.S. operation that ousted Maduro.
Asked about Betancourt, a U.S. official who declined to be identified said most of the legal challenges were almost a decade old and he currently has no legal problems in the United States. NABEP’s record of pumping oil in Venezuela made Betancourt the best partner to help boost output under the arrangement, the official said.
Reuters could not determine precisely when U.S. federal prosecutors paused their investigation into Betancourt or whether it came in exchange for his cooperation with the Trump administration.
A tense new fault line in Venezuela's post-Maduro era. Opposition leader and Nobel laureate María Corina Machado has questioned the interim government's massive oil deal with the US — which grants Washington access to over 65 billion barrels, nearly 20% of Venezuela's reserves. While calling the US Venezuela's "principal partner," Machado said the current Caracas leadership lacks the "democratic mandate" to negotiate the country's resources, demanding elections instead.
Sarah Chouraqui, NABEP’s lawyer, said Betancourt had a strong record of operating in complex energy markets. “The allegations in question have been examined extensively by authorities in multiple jurisdictions, and no charges have been brought against him,” she said in an email.
Chouraqui did not address questions about his assistance to the Trump administration or his legal cases.
Before Maduro’s capture, the billionaire provided information that helped enforce a U.S. naval blockade targeting sanctioned oil tankers operating in Venezuela, which led to the seizure or interdiction of more than a dozen vessels, according to the four people who spoke on condition of anonymity. He also facilitated negotiations with officials including Delcy Rodriguez, now interim president after Maduro’s capture.
The Venezuelan government did not respond to requests for comment.
Chevron is expanding its operations in Venezuela after President Trump announced a sweeping deal aimed at developing the country’s enormous oil reserves.
Betancourt’s role as a key intermediary continued; he helped broker oil deals and other partnerships and continued to assist communications between Washington and Caracas to kickstart Venezuela’s economy, according to seven sources.
In January, Betancourt helped broker a key oil trading agreement that led to the export of more than 135 million barrels of crude and fuel to the U.S., Europe, India and the Caribbean, according to vessel monitoring data and six people with knowledge of the negotiations. That’s about half of all oil exports through the end of August.
Reuters could not determine his exact role in the discussions.
Betancourt also popped in on meetings at Venezuela’s Miraflores presidential palace, according to two people familiar with the matter. He was also at Miraflores during this past week’s visit by U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright, Wright told reporters.
Betancourt was investigated in the U.S., Spain and Switzerland but never indicted.
Office buildings of the thermoelectric plant of the Josefa Joaquina Sanchez Bastidas Complex are seen May 3, 2021, in Catia la Mar, Venezuela. The plant was built by Derwick Associates Corp., a company owned by Venezuelan businessman Alejandro Betancourt.
This year U.S. federal prosecutors in Florida paused their investigation into Betancourt tied to an alleged plan that involved embezzling more than $1 billion from Venezuela’s state-owned oil company and laundering it through real estate in Miami and bank accounts in Malta and Switzerland.
Two of those people said supervisors subsequently discouraged U.S. prosecutors from investigating Betancourt further. Prosecutors were not given a rationale, four people familiar with the case said.
U.S. officials pressured the Swiss government to ease its inquiries, according to four people familiar with the matter. Switzerland, which also was investigating Betancourt for money laundering, dropped its request to extradite him from the United Kingdom in May, the sources said.
The Zurich Public Prosecutor’s Office declined to comment on whether the U.S. influenced that decision, but said the case against Betancourt was proceeding.
The withdrawal was unusual, said Mark Pieth, a Swiss legal scholar and anti-corruption expert. “You would not do that if the case is continuing,” he said.
Reuters was unable to determine if Betancourt remained under investigation in Spain.
La Raisa thermoelectric plant is seen April 29, 2021, near Caujarito, Venezuela. It was built by Derwick Associates Corp, a company owned by Venezuelan businessman Alejandro Betancourt.
Betancourt is a prominent member of the so-called Bolichicos, a younger generation of business people who amassed fortunes during the administration of former Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez. His company Derwick Associates won about $2 billion in government contracts to build power plants during the country's electricity crisis in the 2010s — some without competitive bidding — despite having little construction experience.
Government data later showed many of the plants operated at a fraction of their intended capacity or not at all, as Venezuela's power grid continued to see widespread blackouts. Betancourt and Derwick denied wrongdoing and said failures resulted from mismanagement by state authorities. Rodriguez told a news conference Wednesday that all legal proceedings against Betancourt’s companies in Venezuela were dismissed years ago.
In 2012, Betancourt entered into a partnership with state-controlled PDVSA to operate mature fields in western Venezuela. These would eventually become the core production of NABEP, which Betancourt co-founded with Florida billionaire Harry Sargeant in April 2024. Sargeant sold his shares in NABEP last month.
