Energy Secretary Chris Wright is looking to secure oil and critical minerals deals with Venezuela in the next few weeks ahead of a trip to Caracas, he said in a Friday interview with Axios.
Why it matters: The deals could give the U.S. exclusive access to key resources while helping finance the reconstruction of Venezuela's ailing economy.
What they're saying: "Our hope is that later this year, with bringing some stability with Venezuela, with some help from American assistance, commercial help — no money from our government, no subsidies — but by getting a more stable business environment, we'll see growing production out of Venezuela that'll increase dramatically," Wright told Axios.
The big picture: Wright said it's much bigger than oil and minerals for the U.S., which removed Nicolas Maduro from power in a stunning Jan. 3 raid.
- "The goal is to drive Venezuela's behavior in a positive direction," Wright said.
- "We want to stop the running of drugs. We want to stop the kidnapping of Americans. We want to stop the gangs and criminality and corruption. We want to stop the Hezbollahs of the Western Hemisphere."
Between the lines: President Trump has been clear about his goals of taking de facto control of Venezuela's oil production while hopes of democracy and elections have been an afterthought.
- The president this week met with and praised Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado, but stopped short of backing her.
- Wright pushed back against the idea that the U.S. is "taking" anything.
"The counterparts in Venezuela are thrilled by this," Wright said.
- "Think if you're in the Venezuelan administration right now, you know a third of that oil goes corrupt — gangsters are selling that oil. The remaining oil that you control, you're selling at a huge discount. It's almost all going to China. This is a boost for Venezuela."
The intrigue: The Trump administration has made clear that it's focusing on a functioning Venezuelan government financed by oil and minerals exports, not a new democracy, in the short-term.
- As a result, the U.S. is backing Venezuelan interim President Delcy Rodríguez, Maduro's former vice president, along with her brother, National Assembly President Jorge Rodríguez and the head of the country's security services, Diosdado Cabello.
- On Friday, CIA director John Ratcliffe met with Rodríguez in Venezuela to underscore the U.S. partnership.
Behind the scenes: Trump would only meet privately with opposition leader Machado on Thursday at the White House so as not to send the wrong signal to the acting president in Caracas, administration sources say.
- Machado's meeting was arranged amid a lobbying campaign from Venezuelan exiles and her friend, Fox host Rachel Campos-Duffy, the wife of Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, White House sources said.
What's next: Rodríguez has announced plans to reform the country's hydrocarbons law to allow for more U.S. investment.
- "Venezuela took 200 deportations today in a flight and we're hoping for two to three flights like that a week," said a White House adviser involved in the negotiations with Caracas.
- "Between the deportation flights into the country and the oil and mineral flows out that Wright is working on, we're facing an entirely new dynamic in the Western Hemisphere," the adviser said.
