Posted on 01/29/2026 2:38:59 PM PST by E. Pluribus Unum
CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Venezuela’s legislature on Thursday approved opening the nation’s oil sector to privatization, reversing a tenet of the self-proclaimed socialist movement that has ruled the country for more than two decades.
The National Assembly approved the overhaul of the energy industry law less than a month after the brazen seizure of then-President Nicolás Maduro in a U.S. military attack in Venezuela’s capital.
The bill now awaits the signature of acting President Delcy Rodríguez, who proposed the changes in the days after U.S. President Donald Trump said his administration would take control of Venezuela’s oil exports and revitalize the ailing industry by luring foreign investment.
The legislation promises to give private companies control over the production and sale of oil and allow for independent arbitration of disputes.
Rodríguez’s government expects the changes to serve as assurances for major U.S. oil companies that have so far hesitated about returning to the volatile country. Some of those companies lost investments when the ruling party enacted the existing law two decades ago to favor Venezuela’s state-run oil company, Petróleos de Venezuela SA, or PDVSA.
The revised law would modify extraction taxes, setting a royalty cap rate of 30% and allowing the executive branch to set percentages for every project based on capital investment needs, competitiveness and other factors.
It also removes the mandate for disputes to be settled only in Venezuelan courts, which are controlled by the ruling party. Foreign investors have long viewed the involvement of independent courts as crucial to guard against future expropriation.
Ruling-party lawmaker Orlando Camacho, head of the assembly’s oil committee, said the reform “will change the country’s economy.”
Meanwhile, opposition lawmaker Antonio Ecarri urged the assembly to add transparency and accountability provisions to the law, including the creation of a website to...
(Excerpt) Read more at apnews.com ...
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Webster definition: "Brazen -marked by shameless or disrespectful boldness"
Nothing like an editorializing leftist garbage.
In 2016, I was selling American made four packs of toilet paper to Venezuela, where it was selling retail for $38 per roll to those willing to pay that. I sold the four packs in bundles to them for sixty cents per roll, cash in advance. Somebody sure was making a fortune off of state run enterprise.
You can’t hate the media enough.
Ah, yes “AP”
El RushBo had it right.... APO
Associated
Press
Obama
Good. Capitalism will bring prosperity and thus stability.
“Rodríguez’s government expects the changes to serve as assurances for major U.S. oil companies that have so far hesitated about returning to the volatile country.
Some of those companies lost [tens of billions in] investments when the ruling party enacted the existing law two decades ago to favor [the theft of billions of dollars of other people’s property to be given to] Venezuela’s state-run oil company, Petróleos de Venezuela SA, or PDVSA.”
no doubt, a signature on a piece of paper assures that the above theft can never happen again, right?
I wish I were young again. I was oil field in Venezuela in the early 70s. It was great great great. It had the highest standard of living in South America. It was the best in Latin America. It was corrupt but much less corrupt than our USA today. The corruption and anger led to the election of Chavez the Marxist and his successor Maduro. Chavez won the election legitimately and perhaps his reelection but it is doubtful. No election since has be legitimate.
I regret not being young. I would much like to go back and work and rebuild that nation as we did before. I was oilfield as mentioned, the life blood of Venezuela. I wish I could do it again but I am old.
I loved Venezuela and feel much sorrow for what has happened to the people of Venezuela.
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