Alejandro Betancourt, Trump’s new Latin American oligarch

A 46-year-old businessman with a terrible reputation has just become Donald Trump’s oilman in Venezuela. After days of speculation, the White House finally released more details about the historic deal that will give him privileged access — for a century — to a quarter of Venezuela’s crude reserves. It is an unprecedented agreement, but the most surprising thing is who is behind it. Alejandro Betancourt, who remains under investigation in Switzerland and Spain for alleged money laundering and tax fraud, is the architect, the broker, and the main beneficiary of the contract that has whipped up a storm from Caracas to Washington. “No Betancourt, no energy-security deal,” a U.S. official told Axios.

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