What did Maria Corina Machado say about Venezuela's oil deal with the US?

On the BBC Global News Podcast, Latin America correspondent Will Grant reports that Maria Corina Machado's main objection to the agreement, which would give Washington 20% of Venezuela's oil reserves, is that neither she nor most Venezuelans have read it. She told supporters her movement does not oppose foreign investment and would honour deals signed openly and within the law, but would add rule of law and security guarantees for investors.

• Machado says Venezuelans are being asked to trust the deal by a government they do not trust.
• Machado frames a future government's version as a better deal for foreign investors, not a cancelled one.

▸In their words

“We're not about to come in here and rip up the deal.” Will Grant · at 4:11 — open in the transcript →

Source: our own transcription of the episode. The full conversation is on Global News Podcast (2026-10-30). Read the whole episode summary →

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