US Takes 35% Stake in Venezuelan Oil Venture Under Pentagon-Brokered Deal

The US government, through the Pentagon, is taking a 35% stake in a Venezuelan oil venture linked to businessman Betancourt, according to the Wall Street Journal. Venezuela's interim president said the energy deal will run for 25 years, an unusually long horizon for a foreign state stake in Latin American oil assets. The deal has already run into domestic resistance in Venezuela. Reports describe criticism from both government allies and opposition figures, suggesting the arrangement is contentious across the political spectrum rather than a partisan flashpoint alone. What remains unresolved is how the stake will be governed day to day and whether it survives legal or political challenges inside Venezuela. The deal's structure — a direct US government equity position in a foreign oil venture — is not a template Washington has used in the region before, so how it is implemented will be watched closely by other resource-rich governments.