U.S. officials defend deal with controversial Venezuelan oil baron

<p>U.S. officials are defending their work with Venezuelan businessman Alejandro Betancourt in the unprecedented White House move to effectively gain control over huge oilfields in the country.</p><ul><li>They're also confirming the Trump administration's support for Venezuela's elections.</li></ul><p><strong>Why it matters: </strong>Betancourt is <a href="https://www.axios.com/2026/09/01/trump-venezuela-oil-baron" target="_blank">the colorful and controversial figure</a> who heads North America

Original reporting by Axios · Ben Geman. GridIndex is an aggregation and intelligence layer — full credit to the original publisher.