Overview
- Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said more than two dozen major U.S. mining companies accompanied him to Caracas and called the prospects for collaboration “unlimited.”
- He reported Venezuelan assurances to protect companies operating in mining areas and said he expects the country to surpass its 2026 oil and gas production goals.
- Interim president Delcy Rodríguez reaffirmed a rewrite of the mining code, with the National Assembly set to take up the text Monday, after already opening hydrocarbons to private investors.
- U.S. transportation officials authorized American Airlines’ Envoy unit to reestablish flights to Venezuela for the first time since 2019, and PDVSA announced new supply contracts to the U.S. after shipping more than 80 million barrels of crude, according to public statements.
- Environmental groups cautioned that expansion in the 112,000 km² mining arc is linked to illegal extraction, deforestation, corruption and the presence of armed groups.