{
  "id": 5800842,
  "title": "Venezuelan billionaire US investigated for money laundering now has a Pentagon oil deal",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/04/venezuelan-billionaire-us-investigated-for-money-laundering-now-has-a",
  "topic": "business",
  "section": "Business",
  "published": "2026-09-04T21:00:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Gulf Times Business",
    "slug": "gulf-times-business",
    "url": "https://www.gulf-times.com/article/732618/business/venezuelan-billionaire-us-investigated-for-money-laundering-now-has-a-pentagon-oil-deal"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Alejandro Betancourt, a Venezuelan billionaire, has faced allegations of money laundering related to funds stolen from the state-owned oil company PDVSA. However, he has since cooperated with US authorities, leading to a significant change in his standing. Following his assistance in securing the US capture of former President Nicolas Maduro, Betancourt has become a crucial partner in a new oil deal with the Pentagon. The Pentagon's Office of Strategic Capital has acquired a 35% stake in Betancourt's company, North American Blue Energy Partners (NABEP), which is a known crude producer in Venezuela. Additionally, the State Department has obtained the right to buy 20% of NABEP's oil at cost, while the remaining 80% will be accessible to NABEP. This marks a notable transformation for Betancourt, who was previously the target of US investigations.",
  "summary": "The billionaire who helped broker the Trump administration’s sweeping long-term oil deal with Venezuela was until recently a target of US money-laundering investigations involving funds embezzled from...",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Financial Post",
        "title": "Charles St-Arnaud: Trump’s Venezuelan oil deal is further proof Canada needs to diversify — now",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/03/charles-st-arnaud-trumps-venezuelan-oil-deal-is-further-proof-canada",
        "published": "2026-09-03T10:00:02.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}