Record · the original document behind a story
White House pick to run Venezuela oil deal under investigation in two countries
Published by International Consortium of Investigative Journalists on September 3, 2026.
Reports the investigations as active: a Swiss extradition request Betancourt was fighting from Britain as of May (citing the Financial Times), a Spanish investigation of Derwick Associates, the 2018 U.S. complaint naming him as an unnamed co-conspirator (citing the Miami Herald), and $7.6 million of transactions banks flagged as suspicious. No charge against him. The page carries no response from him.
The cited passage, with surrounding source text
… <div class="row justify-content-center"> <div class="col-sm-10 col-md-12 col-lg-9"> </div> </div> <div class="post-body post-content row justify-content-center"> <div class="col-sm-10 col-md-12 col-lg-9"> <p>A massive oil deal between the U.S. and Venezuelan governments has revived the profile of Alejandro Betancourt, a businessman under investigation in Spain and Switzerland on suspicion of laundering billions of dollars out of Venezuela and into the European financial system.</p> <p>On Monday, <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/fact-sheets/2026/08/fact-sheet-president-donald-j-trump-announces-historic-oil-agreement-to-secure-american-energy-dominance-and-drive-venezuelas-economic-recovery/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">the White House announced details of a new deal</a> with interim President Delcy Rodríguez giving the U.S. majority control over 65 billion barrels of Venezuelan oil. The deal comes after the January U.S. military seizure of former President Nicolás Maduro, who is currently jailed in New York.</p> …
Read the original · Open the copy we saved
Where we use it
- The White House says 100-year rights to 17 Venezuelan oil fields. Caracas says 25 years, renewable. · cited for the state of the investigations of Betancourt: active in Spain and Switzerland, no charge
About this saved copy
The fingerprint identifies the saved text used for this record. A different copy has a different fingerprint.
- Text fingerprint (SHA-256)
547720d5148e0146fd69bb214930ddde6518010123a3afb34291be3afb41e5be
Timeline entries this record anchors: Who had the power to sign, and who the operator is.