Venezuela's Rodriguez proposes oil reform to facilitate investment
Delcy Rodriguez, Venezuela's interim president, said Thursday she would submit a proposal for reforming?the country’s hydrocarbon laws. Investors in the U.S. are pushing to?get easier access to Venezuela’s?oil sector.
Rodriguez said that the reforms "allow this investment flow to be incorporated in new fields, where no investment has been made before and where there is no existing infrastructure."
Rodriguez said that funds generated from the oil industry would be used to pay for workers and public services. According to the U.S., around $500 million has been generated by oil sales in a deal signed with Caracas. This money is held on U.S. controlled bank accounts. A source in the industry familiar with the plan stated that 'the main account is located in Qatar.
Rodriguez, who took office ten days after her predecessor was ousted by the U.S. She delivered her annual address to legislators in an annual Presidential Address. She was appointed interim president after the U.S. military had captured Nicolas Maduro, who was then flown to the U.S. for trial on drug-related charges. He denies the allegations.
Rodriguez called for diplomacy between the U.S. and Canada, a change in the historically tense language between the two nations. She said that if she had to go to Washington she would "walk on her own feet, not be dragged."
Rodriguez stated that she has a "plan for 2026" and will "forge a brand new politics in Venezuela". She also praised many long-standing government members. The speech came just a few days after Maria Corina Machado, the leader of the opposition in Brazil, met U.S. president Donald Trump at the White House. Trump's press secretary told reporters that he liked what he saw and thought Rodriguez was very cooperative.
The press secretary stated that Trump has not changed his opinion that Machado was not a realistic option for Venezuela.
Machado told reporters that, in a brief interview after the meeting, the meeting went well, and that both she and her supporters can count on Trump.
(source: Reuters)
