The U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright arrived in Venezuela on Wednesday to press for a bolder overhaul of the energy industry, making it clear that the United States could use its standing as an economic colossus to achieve the aims.
Mr. Wright is one of the highest-ranking U.S. officials to visit Venezuela in nearly 30 years, reflecting how ties are warming between the countries after U.S. forces in January captured Venezuela’s former leader, Nicolás Maduro, and forcibly extracted him to the United States.
Despite lawmakers’ approval last month of sweeping changes to legislation governing the oil industry, Mr. Wright said that he wanted Venezuela’s government to go much further in opening its economy to foreign energy companies,
“The idea is to use leverage to drive progress,” Mr. Wright told reporters in the capital, Caracas on Wednesday. About the new energy law, he said, “It’s a meaningful step in the right direction, probably in my view not far and clear enough to encourage the large capital flows you’d like to see.”
Some American oil giants like Exxon Mobil, which had its Venezuelan operations nationalized two decades ago, have expressed skepticism about returning to Venezuela, citing legal risks and the potential for political upheaval.
While acknowledging more could be done to lure U.S. investments to Venezuela, Mr. Wright emphasized that international oil companies often take risks to do business in countries with a record of upheaval because that is where oil is often found. He cited the “flood of investment” expected to arrive in Libya, which is controlled by two rival factions.
At the start of his three-day visit, Mr. Wright met with Mr. Maduro’s successor, Delcy Rodríguez, the interim president. He said he planned to travel with Ms. Rodríguez on Thursday to see oil-producing operations firsthand.
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Mr. Wright, the former chief executive of an oil company at the heart of the fracking boom in the United States, was largely positive in his assessment of Ms. Rodríguez willingness to make big changes to Venezuela’s economy and political system.
He said that Venezuela had made important efforts to improve economic conditions in the weeks since the capture of Mr. Maduro, who presided over a harrowing economic crash. Additionally, Mr. Wright said that he expected Venezuela to eventually transition into a more representative political system.
Mr. Wright cited areas where Venezuela could make greater progress in disassembling its authoritarian rule and aligning more closely with the United States, following decades of forging alliances with countries often at odds with Washington.
“You’ve still got political prisoners in jail here,” Mr. Wright said, citing the hundreds who remain detained after others were recently released. “You’ve still got relations here with China, with Russia, with Iran. Those are things to be transitioned.”
Mr. Wright’s visit raised eyebrows around Caracas. Security forces opened the way for his large security detail and motorcade to zoom through the city, where murals still celebrate Venezuela’s ties with Iranian and Cuban leaders.
The changes in Venezuela are unfolding after the United States mounted a monthslong military campaign targeting Mr. Maduro that involved dozens of deadly strikes on small boats the Trump administration said were smuggling illicit drugs. President Trump has warned Ms. Rodríguez that she could meet a fate similar to Mr. Maduro’s if she does not cooperate with the United States.
After meeting with Ms. Rodríguez, she and Mr. Wright briefly answered questions from reporters outside the presidential palace, a rare show of openness from Venezuela’s new leader. Later, Mr. Wright met with foreign journalists at the JW Marriott Hotel.
“A free press,” he said, “is a critical part of a civil society.”
Simon Romero is a Times correspondent covering Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean. He is based in Mexico City.
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