- President Donald Trump has called the deal granting the US control of strategic Venezuelan oil fields 'the biggest in history'. North American Blue Energy Partners (Nabep), a company little known outside the South American country, will oversee the production and sale of 17 oil fields containing about 65bn barrels of crude.
- Leopoldo Alejandro Betancourt López was born in the Venezuelan capital of Caracas in February 1980 into a middle-class family. A graduate of Suffolk University in Boston, Massachusetts, he is estimated to be worth around $2.6bn (£1.9bn).
- The 46-year-old has a history of doing business with the Venezuelan government since the time of the late President Hugo Chávez. He has also found himself under investigation in five different countries, but has previously denied wrongdoing and has never been convicted of a crime.
- Venezuelan journalist Alek Boyd said that Betancourt became a close school friend of Javier Alvarado Pardi, the son of a man who later became president of Electricidad de Caracas, vice-minister of energy, and an executive at Petróleos de Venezuela (PDVSA). In 2009, Alvarado introduced Betancourt to his father, who assured him they could solve the electricity crisis despite having no experience in the sector.
- Around that time, Derwick Associates, the engineering firm that Betancourt founded with a cousin, received 12 government contracts, awarded without bidding, for a total of $5bn. Shortly afterwards, he and other young entrepreneurs were nicknamed 'bolichicos', a slang term combining Bolivarian and chico.
- Anti-corruption organisations such as Transparency Venezuela and the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project allege that several projects were either not finished or were carried out incorrectly. A 2018 report by Transparency Venezuela estimated that 11 of the projects awarded to Derwick should have cost $2.1bn, implying the government overpaid by 138%. Betancourt's legal team has rejected the accusations as politically motivated smears.
- In the mid-2010s, Betancourt began his international expansion by acquiring a stake in the Spanish sunglasses company Hawkers, becoming its majority shareholder and president in 2016. He also acquired banking entities in Switzerland and Africa. Today, his business network encompasses some 50 companies across 16 countries.
- In 2013, former US ambassador to Venezuela Otto Reich filed a lawsuit against Betancourt and two associates for "paying large sums to [Venezuelan] public officials in exchange for awarding them contracts". The lawsuit was dismissed five years later, but judicial authorities in Spain, Switzerland, Andorra and the US have opened investigations against Betancourt and other "bolichicos" for alleged corruption schemes related to PDVSA. He has not been charged and has denied wrongdoing.
President Donald Trump has described the US-Venezuela oil deal as "the biggest in history," granting control over 17 oil fields with an estimated 65 billion barrels of crude to North American Blue Energy Partners (Nabep).12
The deal positions Nabep, a relatively unknown entity outside Venezuela, to oversee production and sales, while Leopoldo Alejandro Betancourt López, a businessman with a controversial past, emerges as a significant player. Betancourt, born in Caracas in 1980, has a net worth of approximately $2.6 billion (£1.9 billion) and has been involved in business dealings with the Venezuelan government since the era of Hugo Chávez.34567
His company, Derwick Associates, received numerous government contracts during the Chávez administration, often without competitive bidding. Critics, including Transparency Venezuela, allege that many of these projects were either incomplete or poorly executed, with a 2018 report suggesting the government overpaid by 138% for certain contracts.1011121314
Betancourt's international ventures include acquiring stakes in various companies, such as the Spanish sunglasses brand Hawkers, and he has faced investigations in multiple countries for alleged corruption linked to Petróleos de Venezuela (PDVSA). Despite these challenges, he continues to expand his business network, which spans 16 countries and includes around 50 companies.89151617181920
“Betancourt, worth $2.6bn, has faced investigations in five countries but never been convicted. His firm Derwick received 12 no-bid contracts worth $5bn, with Transparency Venezuela alleging overpayment by 138%.”
BBC
