US backs Betancourt-backed plan to boost Venezuela oil output

U.S. officials defend a White House–backed deal to expand output from 17 Venezuelan oil fields by partnering with controversial billionaire Alejandro Betancourt through NABEP, with the Pentagon taking a 35% equity stake and the U.S. rights to buy 20% of the oil at cost after taxes, arguing the move will bring capital and expertise to Venezuela’s oil sector and advance a democratic transition despite questions about legality and neo-colonial implications tied to Betancourt’s past.