The contract grants the United States a 20 percent stake in production at cost, a right of first refusal on the remaining 80 percent, and guarantees Venezuela a royalty of $19 per barrel for seventeen oilfields projected to yield a cumulative 65 billion barrels.

Critics argue that the pact was negotiated in secrecy with a government they deem illegitimate, lacking democratic legitimacy and the rule of law, and that it primarily serves U.S. political objectives rather than Venezuela’s economic interests.

Venezuelan Canadians and seasoned oil‑industry veterans have voiced sharp disappointment: Rebecca Sarfatti, co‑founder of the Canada‑Venezuela Democracy Forum, described the arrangement as a conflict of interest, while veteran Jorge Robles warned that any royalties flowing from the deal are likely to be diverted to reinforce the chavista regime.

The agreement is underpinned by an unusual joint venture between the Pentagon and a private firm called North American Blue Energy Partners (NABEP); NABEP was originally founded by Florida oil magnate Harry Sargeant III—who has close ties to the Trump administration—and later sold to Venezuelan businessman Alejandro Betancourt, who has faced investigations for alleged money‑laundering linked to Venezuelan assets.

For many Venezuelans, the deal epitomises a breach of sovereignty: it bypasses democratic oversight, risks entrenching the interim government, and appears designed to bolster U.S. electoral narratives rather than to revive Venezuela’s oil sector.

The widespread denunciations therefore reflect deep anxieties about legitimacy, democratic rule, and the prospect that oil revenues will be weaponised to sustain a regime that the opposition and diaspora consider unlawful.