Venezuela's acting president Delcy Rodríguez says nearly $76 billion in oil investment expected
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The gist
Venezuela's acting president Delcy Rodríguez said the country expects nearly $76 billion in oil and gas investment over five years.
The figure rests on 61 signed agreements as Caracas reopens its energy sector to foreign firms.
Background
Delcy Rodríguez is Venezuela's acting president, having taken executive power after former president Nicolás Maduro was captured by U.S. special operations forces on January 3, 2026; she was previously his executive vice president. Venezuela has reopened its energy sector to foreign investment since January, and Rodríguez has been presenting the resulting deals to investors. She spoke at the close of an energy, oil and gas conference in Zulia state, a key oil-producing region.
How it unfolded
- Jan 3, 2026U.S. special operations forces captured Nicolás Maduro; executive power passed to Delcy Rodríguez, his executive vice president, who became acting president.
- Apr 1, 2026Delcy Rodríguez was removed from the U.S. Treasury's OFAC Specially Designated Nationals list.
- Sep 19, 2026Rodríguez met Paraguayan President Santiago Peña at Miraflores Palace in Caracas.
- Oct 14, 2026OFAC removed Jorge Rodríguez, National Assembly president and Delcy Rodríguez's brother, from its Specially Designated Nationals list.
- Oct 17, 2026Speaking at an energy conference in Zulia state, Rodríguez said Venezuela expects nearly $76 billion in oil and gas investment over five years, backed by 61 signed cooperation agreements, with 44 more under negotiation.
Who’s saying what
- Official
- Rodríguez said "great investments are ahead" and described the deals as a "win-win partnership" that also benefits Venezuela's partners.
- Analysts
- Imdat Oner, a former Turkish diplomat and senior policy analyst at Florida International University's Jack D. Gordon Institute, said regional governments that condemned Maduro's authoritarianism a year ago now engage directly with Rodríguez, normalizing relations with the establishment they once sought to isolate.
Still unverified
An Instagram post of unknown date claims interim President Delcy Rodríguez announced a "historic" oil agreement giving the U.S. majority control over about 60 billion barrels of Venezuelan oil.