Four senior U.S. Senate Democrats want to know whether the Pentagon can legally buy a 35% stake in a Venezuelan oil company. They put the question in writing on Wednesday, September 30, 2026.
Their letter went to Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth and Energy Secretary Chris Wright. It challenges a proposed deal that would give the Defense Department equity in NABEP. The Wall Street Journal first reported the letter; Quartz and WION carried its contents on October 1.
A Question of Legal Authority
Jeanne Shaheen, Jack Reed, Martin Heinrich and Elizabeth Warren signed the letter. They are the senior Democrats on the foreign relations, armed services, energy and banking committees, respectively. Those panels oversee the matter.
The Pentagon's Office of Strategic Capital would hold the stake. The unit finances technology deemed vital to defense. The senators said its mandate covers loans and guarantees, but it doesn't cover equity in private oil firms.
The 35% figure had already been reported. The new development is a formal legal challenge from the lawmakers who oversee the deal.
Transparency and Vetting Demands
The senators asked for the agreement text and its legal basis. They also requested the State Department's plan for purchasing NABEP oil and details on how officials vetted NABEP. They raised a pointed question, too: could Trump family members or political donors benefit?
The letter cited past money-laundering investigations of NABEP leader Alejandro Betancourt in Spain, Switzerland and the United States. It noted that authorities have never charged him. Rubio, the letter added, has said Betancourt isn't under active U.S. investigation.
By October 1, no public response from the Pentagon, State Department or Energy Department had been reported. It wasn't clear whether the senators set a deadline for answers. The letter isn't binding, so the deal can proceed unless the administration changes course.
Treasury Targets an ATM Fraud Network
That same day, the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) designated 10 targets in an ATM fraud scheme, along with a separate gang leader. The scheme used malware to force cash machines in the United States to dispense cash.
Treasury said Anibal Alexander Canelón Aguirre, known as "Prometheus," "orchestrated" the operation. He's on the FBI's ten most-wanted list. Treasury called him "the alleged engineer of the malware" and said his network was based in Mexico and Venezuela. Reported U.S. losses from such attacks reached US$40.73 million across more than 1,500 attacks as of August 2025.
The designation list named two Mexican companies and Juan Gabriel Rivas Núñez, known as "Juancho," whom the article linked to illegal gold mining. The sanctions froze any U.S. assets held by those named. Treasury said its release didn't identify Canelón's current location.
Some coverage went beyond the government’s statements. An X headline shared Thursday morning called Canelón a "new brain" (nuevo cerebro) and placed him in Venezuela. A YouTube newscast by Impacto Venezuela used a similar "brain in Venezuela?" phrase. Treasury's release didn't use the word "brain." Neither did El Nacional or Infobae.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Washington would deny "these terrorist financial facilitators the resources they need."
Why This Matters:
The two stories pose the same question from different directions: who answers for how public power is used? The senators' letter asks whether an agency can exceed its mandate to take an ownership stake in a foreign oil company, and whether anyone with political ties could profit. Their questions about the agreement text, legal basis and NABEP vetting concern democratic oversight of public money. Treasury's action shows the other side of that work: officials tie U.S. losses of US$40.73 million to a network they say operated from Mexico and Venezuela. Because the letter isn't binding, the deal can go forward without answers. The administration's response will indicate how much weight congressional oversight carries here.