— Venezuelan billionaire Alejandro Betancourt, now a key intermediary in the Trump administration’s oil strategy in Venezuela, was until recently under U.S. investigation for alleged money laundering involving more than $1 billion embezzled from PDVSA, Reuters writes. Florida prosecutors paused the investigation earlier this year, while Switzerland withdrew a UK extradition request in May but says its criminal case remains active. Betancourt has never been charged and denies wrongdoing.
Betancourt helped U.S. authorities enforce the pre-Maduro naval blockade and facilitated contacts with Delcy Rodríguez before and after Nicolás Maduro’s removal.
He later helped broker oil agreements that have exported more than 135 million barrels and now controls NABEP, in which the Pentagon is taking a 35% stake. The State Department will also have the right to buy 20% of NABEP’s production at cost and preferential access to the rest.
A U.S. official said Betancourt’s legal issues are mostly nearly a decade old and described him as the “best partner” for rapidly increasing Venezuelan oil production.
Former U.S. intelligence officials, prosecutors, and diplomats have raised concerns about his influence given the previous U.S. investigation, ongoing Swiss case, and longstanding ties to senior Chávez- and Maduro-era officials.
