Venezuelan lawmakers approve easing state control of oil industry

WorldBusiness & Finance
30 Jan 2026 • 5:04 AM MYT
The Independent
The Independent

The world’s most free-thinking newspaper

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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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