US and Venezuela leaders praise oil agreement

The United States and Venezuela announced on Wednesday a series of energy agreements for the development of new oil fields, known as "green fields," marking a milestone in bilateral relations and in the revival of the South American country's hydrocarbons industry.

Venezuela's acting president, Delcy Rodríguez, called the day historic, noting that the nation had not undertaken this type of project in decades.

"We are doing this hand in hand with allies-with Chevron, a U.S. company that has been in Venezuela for over a century, and with Eni, an Italian company that has been here for over three decades," Rodríguez said, emphasizing that the goal is to benefit the Venezuelan people.

For his part, U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright stated that the agreement represents a "massive victory" for both countries.

He explained that the agreement will allow for the injection of capital and technology to extract underground resources, and "improve the lives of Venezuelans and better supply energy to Americans."

Wright emphasized the importance of private investment, highlighting the joint operations between Chevron and the Venezuelan firm NABEP (North American Blue Energy Partners), owned by businessman Alejandro Betancourt.

"We want to partner with private industry in Venezuela to grow homegrown production and draw capital from abroad," Wright concluded.

Many inside and outside of Venezuela, however, have criticised the deal, claiming it was nothing more than "gunpoint diplomacy" or a return to "colonialism."