Page F6From§Eachthe early bird edition — 1 September 2026
Trump’s Venezuela oil deal ships 100-year leases as Chevron drills deeper
Where oil deals are concerned, a lease’s term can tell you more about power than the price. Here, we see Venezuela’s oil fields granted 100-year leases—an arrangement that would outlast most global alliances. Chevron, already drilling deeper, stands to benefit, while the deal’s architect, Betancourt, comes with a money-laundering allegation attached. The money flows, the leases lock in, and the public ledger runs long. For the next century, resources sit in private hands—no inflation adjustment, hon, no sunset clause. In lieu of transparency, the receipts are handed to the drillers, and the public is left with a century of extraction. That’s not a one-time payout; it’s a hundred-year revenue stream, written in oil and signed in dollars. The scale is precise, the duration is absurd, and the gap is measured in generations.
“You cut a deal with oil guys, they bring the drill, and the White House hands out leases that last longer than most empires. Chevron’s digging, the money guy’s got a rap sheet, and your grandkid’s air is part of the contract.”
“Well, listen, energy independence is critical, and these are standard agreements in the industry. Did I say 100 years? That’s not unusual, it’s just forward-thinking. Besides, the details are confidential, and the administration’s only—wait, I mean, it’s about jobs.”
The receipts
Economist Francisco Rodríguez says no Venezuelan government would enter such a deal unless they were “held at gunpoint.”
The 46-year-old oil baron reportedly played a crucial role in helping the Trump administration oust Nicolas Maduro from power – and has his own checkered past.
This page is a back-issue: the story as it ran, receipts as they were. The current edition is at the front.