Venezuelan lawmakers approve easing state control of oil industry
Workers of Venezuela's state-owned PDVSA oil company rally to back an oil reform bill proposed by acting President Delcy Rodriguez to loosen state control and open the industry to private and foreign investment in Caracas, Venezuela, Thursday, Jan. 29, 2026. Credit: AP/Ariana Cubillos
CARACAS, Venezuela — Venezuela’s legislature on Thursday approved opening the nation’s oil sector to privatization, reversing a tenet of the self-proclaimed socialist movement that has ruled the country for more than two decades.
The National Assembly approved the overhaul of the energy industry law less than a month after the brazen seizure of then-President Nicolás Maduro in a U.S. military attack in Venezuela’s capital.
The bill now awaits the signature of acting President Delcy Rodríguez, who proposed the changes in the days after U.S. President Donald Trump said his administration would take control of the Venezuela’s oil exports and revitalize the ailing industry by luring foreign investment.
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