In one of the more surprising twists in the rapidly changing relationship between the United States and Venezuela, billionaire businessman Alejandro Betancourt has emerged as a key partner in Washington’s massive new push into Venezuelan oil.

The Pentagon’s Office of Strategic Capital is taking a 35% stake in North American Blue Energy Partners (NABEP), the Venezuelan oil producer controlled by Betancourt. The U.S. State Department will also have the right to purchase 20% of the company’s oil production at cost, along with preferential access to the rest.

The agreement covers 17 Venezuelan oil fields containing an estimated 65 billion barrels of proven reserves, potentially giving Washington significant long-term influence over one of the largest oil resources in the world.

From Investigation to Washington Partner

What makes the deal especially controversial is Betancourt’s history.

Reuters reports that U.S. federal prosecutors had been investigating him over possible money laundering involving money allegedly embezzled from Venezuela’s state oil company, PDVSA. That investigation was paused earlier this year, according to people familiar with the matter.

Betancourt has never been charged with a crime, and his company says allegations against him have been extensively examined by authorities without charges being filed. A separate Swiss criminal investigation remains ongoing.

His relationship with Washington reportedly changed dramatically after he provided information that helped U.S. authorities enforce an oil blockade against sanctioned tankers and played a role in communications with Venezuelan officials.

Venezuela’s Oil Is Back at the Centre of Everything

The partnership shows just how quickly Venezuela’s political and economic landscape is changing.

Washington is now betting that Betancourt and NABEP can dramatically increase production from Venezuela’s enormous but historically underperforming oil reserves.

For Venezuela, the deal could mean billions of dollars in investment and the rebuilding of an oil industry that has suffered from years of underinvestment, sanctions and mismanagement.

For the United States, it means something much bigger: preferential access to a massive supply of Venezuelan crude and considerably more influence over the future of the country’s most important industry.

A Venezuelan billionaire who was recently facing legal scrutiny is now sitting at the centre of one of the most ambitious U.S.-Venezuela oil deals in decades.

Politics — especially oil politics — can change very quickly.