Machado says Venezuela needs 'more than money' after US oil deal

CARACAS — Venezuelan opposition figure Maria Corina Machado on Thursday called for a democratic transition in her country after the interim government struck a massive oil deal with the United States.

The agreement grants U.S. access to more than 65 billion barrels — almost 20 percent — of oil in Venezuela, which holds the largest proven reserves in the world.

Celebrating the "historic" pact on Wednesday, U.S. President Donald Trump and Venezuelan interim leader Delcy Rodriguez both sidelined the notion of elections in the near future.

Machado, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, said genuine development required a democratic transition.

"The oil sector is only one part of the immense reconstruction we must undertake in Venezuela," she said in a video statement.

The South American country "requires colossal investments," she said, "but it needs much more than money."

"No development is possible without solid institutions and a government elected by popular vote," added Machado.

The deal comes as U.S. Republicans brace for possible losses in November midterm elections over spiraling fuel costs brought on by the US-Israel war on Iran.

Energy Secretary Chris Wright traveled to Venezuela on Wednesday to oversee the signing of deals between Caracas and oil major Chevron, GE Vernova — a General Electric offshoot — and Italy's ENI.

He insisted that the U.S. was not "stealing Venezuelan oil" in comments to AFP and other media outlets.

"All we're doing is taking an idle, underground asset that isn't doing anything for Venezuelan people and bringing the money, the technology to develop it," Wright said.

'I know how you feel'

Trump meanwhile dismissed the idea of Venezuelan elections taking place in the near future.

"I just don't think they're ready yet," he told reporters.

Interim leader Rodriguez, who took the reins after U.S. forces ousted president Nicolas Maduro in January and effectively does Washington's bidding, echoed Trump's comment.

Machado empathized with Venezuelans frustrated by the deal's lack of transparency.

"I know how you feel: sadness, anger, and that all-too-familiar unease in our history, because someone decides what belongs to us, in our name, without taking us into account," she said.

The exiled politician took care not to blast Venezuela's northern neighbor too strongly, however, focusing instead on the interim government, which she views as "the enemies of the United States."

"The wealth in our subsoil does not belong to an illegitimate regime; it belongs to the Venezuelan people," she said, adding that "of course, the United States is the main partner that Venezuela needs to fully develop its strategic value."

Transition talks ongoing

Trump has repeatedly expressed his satisfaction with Rodriguez, who has estimated that Venezuela will make $209 billion in profit from the deals over 25 years.

Under his watch she has opened up Venezuela's mining, electricity and oil sectors to foreign and private capital.

Washington has denied reports that Trump vetoed Machado's return to Venezuela, even after she gifted him her Nobel Peace Prize.

She was not invited to US-backed transition talks between the interim government and selected parts of the opposition, although she said she would not interfere in the process.

The next phase of talks are scheduled to take place within 10 days, U.S. State Secretary Marco Rubio told Fox News on Wednesday.