Maria Corina Machado battles U.S.-backed Venezuelan settlement over legitimacy and oil deal
Maria Corina Machado has hired Washington lobbyists to press for a democratic role in Venezuela’s transition, which is being shaped by a U.S.-backed interim government and a controversial oil-field lease.
Maria Corina Machado entered the Oval Office in January, presenting a Nobel Peace Prize medal to Donald Trump, but weeks later U.S. special forces captured Nicolas Maduro, prompting hopes of a democratic transition. Instead, Washington backed Delcy Rodriguez, Maduro’s former vice-president, to lead an interim government, sidelining Machado. In July she retained Ed Rogers of BGR Group as a consultant and began lobbying oil executives at CERAWeek, asserting that Venezuela would fully privatize its oil sector.
On Aug. 28 Trump announced a deal granting a U.S.-led entity 55% ownership and a 100-year lease on 17 fields containing 65 billion barrels, a plan linked to trader Alejandro Betancourt. Rodriguez quickly reframed the agreement as a 25-year contract preserving Venezuelan sovereignty, while the White House later released a fact sheet describing a different ownership structure. The contradictory accounts underscore Machado’s insurgency against a settlement she argues lacks democratic legitimacy and may become permanent.
Why it matters
The story shows how a disputed oil deal and exclusion of opposition figures could lock in a non-democratic settlement for Venezuela.
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