WASHINGTON – Republican U.S. Congresswoman María Elvira Salazar has sharply criticized Washington’s emerging strategy toward Venezuela, questioning whether Delcy Rodríguez should be allowed to play a central role in agreements involving the country’s oil industry.
Salazar said she supports arrangements that would allow Venezuela’s oil resources to generate economic and strategic benefits for the United States. Her concern, however, centers on who would represent Venezuela in those agreements and ultimately control their implementation.
“I like that the oil wells are going to benefit the United States, but what I don’t like is that those contracts are going to be signed with someone who is going to bite the hand that feeds us — Delcy,” Salazar said.
The Florida Republican went further, describing Rodríguez as “Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves.”
Salazar also questioned the broader approach being taken by Washington toward Venezuela’s political transition.
“I had never seen the United States, which is a liberating force, force the bad guys to stay, recover and transition,” the congresswoman said.
Her comments reflect criticism from within Republican political circles over any arrangement that could preserve significant political or economic influence for figures associated with Venezuela’s previous governing structure while the United States expands its involvement in the country’s energy sector.
The dispute comes as oil has become an increasingly important component of relations between Washington and Caracas. New arrangements under discussion could give U.S. interests a larger role in Venezuelan oil production and potentially bring substantial investment into an industry that possesses some of the world’s largest proven crude reserves.
For Salazar, however, the issue goes beyond whether American companies or the United States would benefit from Venezuelan oil production. She argues that attention must also be paid to who signs and administers the contracts on the Venezuelan side.
Her criticism therefore adds a political dimension to the developing energy agreements: whether economic cooperation with Venezuela can proceed while individuals associated with the former government retain authority over strategically important contracts.
The broader debate is likely to focus increasingly on who controls the oil agreements, the conditions attached to them, safeguards for transparency and how the arrangements fit into Venezuela’s political transition.