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 the state-owned oil company PDVSA. Now, after assisting US authorities ahead of the capture of authoritarian leader Nicolas Maduro, Alejandro Betancourt is Washington’s key partner in an unusual oil agreement with Caracas.According to last week’s announcement, the US gains access to about one-fifth of Venezuela’s crude reserves for decades. The Pentagon’s Office of Strategic Capital takes a 35% stake in North American Blue Energy Partners (NABEP), Betancourt’s company and a known crude producer in Venezuela. The State Department gets the right to buy 20% of NABEP’s oil at cost, and preferential access to the remaining 80% of output.The deal marks a striking change of fortune for Betancourt, who four people familiar with US policy in Venezuela said was key to US strategy and planning in the lead-up to the January 3 operation that removed former President Maduro from power and flew him to New York to face charges of drug-trafficking, which Maduro denies.Asked about the investigations of Betancourt, a US official who declined to be named said most of the legal challenges were nearly a decade old — and that he currently has no legal problems in the US. NABEP’s record of pumping oil in Venezuela made Betancourt the best partner to help boost output under the arrangement, the official said.Reuters could not determine precisely when US federal prosecutors paused their investigation into Betancourt or whether it came in exchange for his cooperation with the Trump administration.Sarah Chouraqui, NABEP’s lawyer, said Betancourt had a strong record of operating in complex energy markets. "The allegations in question have been examined extensively by authorities in multiple jurisdictions, and no charges have been brought against him,” she said in an email.Chouraqui did not address questions about his assistance to the Trump administration or his legal cases.In the months before Maduro’s capture, the billionaire provided information that helped enforce a US naval blockade targeting sanctioned oil tankers operating in Venezuela, which led to the seizure or interdiction of more than a dozen vessels, according to the four people who spoke on condition of anonymity. He also facilitated negotiations with officials including Delcy Rodriguez, who became interim president after Maduro’s capture.The Venezuelan government did not respond to requests for comment.After Maduro’s removal, Betancourt’s role as a key intermediary continued, helping broker oil deals and other partnerships and continuing to assist communications between Washington and Caracas to kickstart Venezuela’s economy, according to seven sources.In January, Betancourt helped broker a key oil trading agreement that has led to the export of more than 135mn barrels of crude and fuel to the US, Europe, India and the Caribbean so far, according to vessel monitoring data and six people with knowledge of the negotiations. That’s about half of all oil exports through the end of August.Reuters could not determine his exact role in the discussions.Betancourt has also popped in on meetings at Venezuela’s Miraflores presidential palace, according to two people familiar with the matter. He was also at Miraflores during this week’s visit by US Energy Secretary Chris Wright, Wright told reporters, though Betancourt did not appear with Wright and Rodriguez at a signing ceremony for oil deals.Betancourt has been investigated in the US, Spain and Switzerland but never indicted.Earlier this year US federal prosecutors in Florida paused their investigation into Betancourt in connection with an alleged plan that involved embezzling over $1bn from Venezuela’s state-owned oil company and laundering it through real estate in Miami and bank accounts in Malta and Switzerland.Two of those people said US prosecutors had been subsequently discouraged by supervisors from investigating Betancourt further.Prosecutors on the case were not given a rationale, four people familiar with the case said.After the investigation stalled, US officials pressured the Swiss government to ease its inquiries into the tycoon, said four people familiar with the matter. Switzerland, which was also investigating Betancourt for money-laundering, dropped its request to extradite him from the United Kingdom in May, said the sources.The Zurich Public Prosecutor’s Office declined to comment on whether the US influenced the decision to withdraw its extradition request, but said the case against Betancourt was still proceeding."The extradition request was withdrawn because of particular aspects of UK extradition law, which we cannot discuss in detail,” the Office said. "This step concerns only the extradition proceedings in the UK. The criminal proceedings against the accused are otherwise unaffected and will continue."The withdrawal was unusual, said Mark Pieth, a Swiss legal scholar and anti-corruption expert. "You would not do that if the case is continuing,” he said.The United Kingdom’s Home Office declined to comment.Betancourt is a prominent member of the so-called Bolichicos — a younger generation of business people who amassed fortunes during the administration of former Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez. His company Derwick Associates won roughly $2bn in government contracts to build power plants during the country's electricity crisis in the 2010s — some without competitive bidding — despite having little construction experience.Government data later showed many of the plants operated at a fraction of their intended capacity or not at all, as Venezuela's power grid continued to suffer widespread blackouts. Betancourt and Derwick have repeatedly denied wrongdoing and said the facilities were completed and that later failures resulted from mismanagement by state authorities. Rodriguez told a press conference on Wednesday that all legal proceedings against Betancourt’s companies in Venezuela were dismissed years ago.In 2012, Betancourt entered into a partnership with state-controlled company PDVSA to operate mature fields in western Venezuela. These would eventually become the core production of NABEP, which Betancourt co-founded with Florida billionaire Harry Sargeant in April 2024. Sargeant sold his shares in NABEP last month.Mauricio Claver-Carone, a Miami businessman and former Trump administration adviser who implemented US policy in Caracas in an unofficial role, told Reuters last month that Betancourt is a useful intermediary between the Trump administration and Rodriguez because he understands the oil business in both countries. He added that Betancourt had been helpful to the first Trump administration.But several former US intelligence officials, prosecutors and diplomats privately expressed concern regarding Betancourt's influence on US policy, because of the previous investigation in the US and ongoing investigation in Switzerland, as well as his proximity to high-ranking officials from the former Hugo Chavez and Maduro governments.Federal prosecutors are "scratching their heads,” said one former prosecutor with knowledge of the situation.Before the Miami-based investigation into Betancourt was put on hold, six sources said he had been identified as an unnamed unindicted co-conspirator in an alleged plan by former Venezuelan energy officials and their associates to launder more than $1bn misappropriated from the state-owned PDVSA oil company. Ten people have been indicted since 2018.In Spain, authorities launched a new investigation into Betancourt for money laundering last year involving $4bn allegedly embezzled from PDVSA, according to Spanish newspaper El Pais.Reuters was unable to determine if he remained under investigation.Spain’s National Court and the Venezuelan state oil company did not respond to requests for comment.Once he was free to leave the UK, Betancourt traveled to Venezuela in late June and again in July, both times departing from West Palm Beach, Florida, according to flight manifests seen by Reuters.Betancourt’s lawyer Chouraqui did not comment on his travel.

The National Planning Council (NPC) has issued the Export Unit Value Index (EXUVI) for the second quarter of 2026. The index recorded an increase of 17.64% compared to the corresponding quarter of 2025 (Q2 2025), and a rise of 6.45% compared to the first quarter of 2026 (Q1 2026).The increase reflects higher unit values of exported goods and demonstrates the resilience of the Qatari economy amid international developments, despite regional economic and geopolitical challenges, as well as the associated volatility in global markets and supply chains, said NPC in a press release today.Regarding the index composition, each main group is assigned a relative weight based on its value in the base year (2018). The "Mineral Fuels, Lubricants and Related Materials" group had the largest relative weight at 88.77%, followed by "Chemicals and Related Products" at 8.04%, while "Manufactured Goods Classified Chiefly by Material" ranked third at 2.63%. Together, these three groups account for approximately 99.5% of the total EXUVI weight.The increase in the EXUVI was driven by gains recorded across eight main groups, led by Chemicals and Related Products at 34.73%, followed by Mineral Fuels, Lubricants and Related Materials at 4.25%, Manufactured Goods Classified Chiefly by Material at 3.31%, Crude Materials, Inedible, Except Fuels at 3.14%, Miscellaneous Manufactured Articles at 1.92%, Beverages and Tobacco at 1.00%, Machinery and Transport Equipment at 0.50%, and Food and Live Animals at 0.46%.A decrease of 1.00% was recorded in only one group Commodities and Transactions Not Classified Elsewhere in SITC. The Animal and Vegetable Oils, Fats and Waxes group remained unchanged during Q2 2026.The EXUVI rose by 17.64% compared to the corresponding quarter of 2025, driven by increases in six main groups: Chemicals and Related Products (+35.94%), Mineral Fuels, Lubricants and Related Materials (+16.14%), Manufactured Goods Classified Chiefly by Material (+14.46%), Crude Materials, Inedible, Except Fuels (+7.38%), Food and Live Animals (+5.26%), and Commodities and Transactions Not Classified Elsewhere in SITC (+0.56%).On the other hand, three groups recorded decreases: Beverages and Tobacco (-3.52%), Machinery and Transport Equipment (-1.45%), and Miscellaneous Manufactured Articles (-0.47%). Meanwhile, the "Animal and Vegetable Oils, Fats and Waxes" group remained unchanged.The EXUVI is a key statistical indicator that tracks changes in the unit values of exported goods and provides important insights into foreign trade dynamics and related economic activity. The index is calculated in accordance with the Standard International Trade Classification (SITC Rev 4), which classifies exports into ten main groups comprising 56 commodities, in accordance with the Harmonized System (HS). The publication of this index falls within the framework of the NPC's commitment to providing reliable statistical data to support evidence-based decision-making and advance economic and developmental planning in the State of Qatar.