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CNN: Trump administration quietly closes criminal probe into Venezuela businessman amid oil deal
- Federal prosecutors in Miami closed the criminal investigation into Venezuelan businessman Alejandro Betancourt on orders from Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, according to two people briefed on the matter, clearing the way for a Trump oil deal.
- For a decade, Betancourt faced scrutiny in a sprawling Justice Department probe dubbed 'Operation Money Flight,' which investigated a billion-dollar money laundering scheme involving Venezuela's state-owned oil company PDVSA.
- Blanche reached out to Swiss authorities to drop warrants restricting the businessman to the UK, while the State Department issued visas for Betancourt to enter the United States multiple times as the oil deal took shape.
- President Donald Trump announced the venture in recent days, partnering with Betancourt to secure control of 65 billion barrels of Venezuela's oil reserves and stabilize the nation's economy.
- Defending the arrangement, Secretary of State Marco Rubio cited Betancourt's 2019 opposition to Maduro, stating the partnership offers an opportunity to "benefit the Venezuelan people" in the long term.
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Trump administration quietly closes criminal probe into Venezuela businessman amid oil deal
For a decade, Venezuelan businessman Alejandro Betancourt has been ensnared in the tentacles of a sprawling Justice Department probe into a sophisticated billion-dollar money laundering scheme that US prosecutors allege embezzled funds from Venezuela’s state-owned oil company known as PDVSA.
·Atlanta, United States
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Total News Sources8
Leaning Left1Leaning Right0Center7Last UpdatedBias Distribution87% Center
Bias Distribution
- 87% of the sources are Center
87% Center
13%
C 87%
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