Trump to Meet Venezuela’s Interim President Amid 100-Year Oil Deal

According to sources familiar with internal deliberations and cited by Axios, former U.S. President Donald Trump intends to meet Venezuela’s interim president, Delcy Rodríguez, in what would be the first such encounter between the two leaders. The meeting is tentatively scheduled for next week.

Strategic Significance and Political Risks

Axios reported that the anticipated meeting carries strategic weight, underscoring close bilateral ties under Trump’s leadership. At the same time, it presents political risks whose implications stretch from Miami to Caracas.

Context: A New U.S.-Venezuela Oil Agreement

The planned meeting follows by approximately two weeks the conclusion of a major U.S.-Venezuela oil deal. Under its terms, the U.S. government secured a 35% stake in a Venezuelan oil project. That stake was structured as “penny warrants”—a financial instrument granting future purchase rights at a nominal price—designed to safeguard Washington’s ownership share against potential dilution during future capital increases in the project, a U.S. official with direct knowledge of the arrangement confirmed.

Defense Department’s Role in Stake Design

The official clarified that the U.S. Department of Defense engineered the 35% equity position within the company North American Blue Energy Partners using this warrant mechanism. It confers on the U.S. government the option—but not the obligation—to acquire additional shares later at a symbolic price, thereby preserving the original ownership level.

Terms of the 100-Year Concession

This equity structure forms part of a recently disclosed agreement between Washington and Caracas. Under that accord, North American Blue Energy Partners—controlled by Venezuelan businessman Alejandro Betancourt—receives 100-year rights over 17 oil fields. The combined proven reserves across those fields are estimated at 65 billion barrels.