As Trump zeroes in on Venezuela’s oil, Rodríguez moves to meet his demands

By Sol Amaya, Michael Rios, CNN

(CNN) — Venezuelan lawmakers on Thursday backed a plan that would make it easier for foreign companies to participate in the country’s oil industry, in the latest move by Caracas to meet the demands of US President Donald Trump.

For almost two decades, much of the country’s oil industry has been nationalized under the government-controlled oil firm PDVSA, with foreign oil companies allowed only to operate in limited joint ventures with the public firm.

Under a proposed reform to the country’s hydrocarbons law, announced by acting President Delcy Rodríguez last week, foreign companies would be allowed to manage oilfields at their “own risk and cost,” Venezuelan lawmaker Orlando Camacho said.

Venezuela’s National Assembly on Thursday gave its initial backing to the reform bill, which now faces a second round of debate before it can be adopted.

“Oil beneath the ground is useless,” said National Assembly President Jorge Rodríguez, who is the brother of the acting president. “What good is it to say that we have the largest oil reserves on the planet if conditions … prevent an accelerated process toward production, toward increasing oil production? And we need to do it and do it now.”

In opening up access to US oil companies, the move would meet one of the main demands the Trump administration has made on Caracas following the capture by US forces of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro earlier this month.

The White House has previously announced agreements between Caracas and Washington for the sale of $500 million worth of Venezuelan crude, with Rodríguez on Tuesday saying that Venezuela had received $300 million of that figure.

The security issue

In what appeared to be another move to meet US demands, the lawmakers on Thursday backed an additional law aimed at boosting legal protections for businesses – one of the issues US oil company executives have told Trump is a condition for them to invest in the country.

Industry sources have previously told CNN that American oil executives are unlikely to dive headfirst into Venezuela for multiple reasons, including security and uncertainty over the country’s political and economic situation.

“The appetite for jumping into Venezuela right now is pretty low. We have no idea what the government there will look like,” one well-placed industry source told CNN earlier this month.

Venezuela has more proven oil reserves than any country on the planet. Yet oil companies say that to invest in far-flung drilling projects, they need confidence about what the operating environment there will look like years, if not decades, into the future.

Rodríguez also told a meeting of the Federal Government Council on Wednesday that there would be a public consultation on March 8 on plans for national infrastructure projects and improvements to “essential public services,” such as water, electricity and transportation.

That date – International Women’s Day – had been chosen “so that we may go forth with the spirit of our women, with the spirit of our warriors,” Rodríguez said.

Trump on Thursday offered a positive assessment of the acting president when asked by reporters if he would let her remain in power.

“But she’s shown very strong leadership so far, I have to say, and we’re moving in to the United States millions of barrels of oil as we speak,” Trump said of Rodríguez. “Well, right now … they’re showing very strong leadership.”

The latest moves by Rodríguez come as US Senate Democrats demand to know whether Trump’s inner circle stands to profit from Venezuelan oil sales, following CNN reports of the administration’s private talks with the nation’s biggest oil companies.

Release of prisoners

The US has also demanded that Venezuela release the many political prisoners it has locked up across the country.

While Venezuela has in the past denied keeping political prisoners, it announced two weeks ago it would release a “significant number” of people as a “peace” gesture to the US.

However, local organizations say the government has freed only around 15% of those held arbitrarily or for political reasons.

The Justice, Encounter and Forgiveness organization said Wednesday that it has verified 167 releases since January 8 and documents 949 people still detained for political reasons, a number it says has increased in recent weeks.

Meanwhile, the rights group Foro Penal on Monday said there had been 143 releases, while its tally of political prisoners was at 777.

The government insists it has freed more people than rights groups claim. On January 14, it reported that about 212 people had been let out since the National Assembly leader announced the new phase of releases in early January. However, officials continue to withhold the identities of those released and the detention centers from where they were freed.

CNN has repeatedly requested more information from the government without receiving a response.

Some of those released have been high-profile figures such as Rafael Tudares, the son-in-law of opposition presidential candidate Edmundo González; Enrique Márquez, another former opposition presidential candidate; and Perkins Rocha, legal adviser to the Vente Venezuela party.

In a separate development Thursday, a senior State Department official confirmed to CNN that Ambassador Laura F. Dogu had been appointed Chargé d’Affaires of the US Office of Foreign Affairs for Venezuela.

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Gonzalo Zegarra and Matt Egan contributed to this report.