Bombay Durpun - After oil, US moves to secure access to Venezuelan minerals

Burgum represents an administration which says it in effect runs Venezuela and controls its vast natural resources like oil after toppling Nicolas Maduro.

Burgum is the second senior US official to visit Caracas since the American bombing raid on January 3 that left around 100 people dead and saw Maduro and his wife flown to New York for trial on US drug trafficking charges.

Burgum was accompanied by over two dozen mining company executives who he said represented "billions of dollars in investments and billions of dollars in well-paid jobs."

"They are eager to get started, and they are eager to cut the red tape to allow that capital investment to flow," Burgum said after talks with interim president Delcy Rodriguez.

Burgum, who leads President Donald Trump's National Energy Dominance Council, described the opportunities for collaboration between Caracas and Washington as "unlimited."

His visit comes under a month after that of Energy Secretary Chris Wright, who pushed for a "dramatic increase" in Venezuela's oil output and talked up "tremendous opportunities" for both Washington and Caracas.

The enthusiastic assessments of both men, which have been echoed by Trump, reflect the sea change in relations between Washington and Caracas since the capture of Maduro.

Trump has allowed Maduro's vice president, Rodriguez, to move up to interim leader so long as she obeys him and his orders for access to Venezuela's natural resources.

In yet another sign of the diplomatic reset, the US Department of Transportation on Wednesday authorized an American Airlines subsidiary, Envoy Air, to operate direct flights to Caracas and the oil city of Maracaibo from Miami.

The flights will be the first to directly link the two countries since 2019, when US-Venezuela ties deteriorated sharply during Trump's first presidency.

- Gold and coltan -

While Washington's attentions have so far been devoted to oil, of which Venezuela has the world's largest proven reserves, Burgum noted that the South American country was "also rich in critical minerals."

Apart from gold and diamonds, Venezuela boasts significant deposits of bauxite and coltan, a mineral that contains a metal used in mobile phones, laptops and other electronics.

Mining activity is concentrated in a vast southeastern territory known as the Orinoco arc.

Environmentalists have condemned the expansion of illegal mining in the area, saying it has caused rampant deforestation and river pollution.

Rodriguez, who last month overhauled the state-controlled oil sector to enable a wave of private investment, has set her sights on updating the mining code.

Few details of her plans have been revealed so far but her brother, congress speaker Jorge Rodriguez, said Monday the reform would allow "large foreign companies" to exploit minerals and rare earth elements.

- 'Doing a great job' -

Rodriguez's compliance with US demands have drawn lavish praise from Trump, who had threatened her with violence if she does not toe his line.

Writing on his Truth Social account on Wednesday he said she was "doing a great job and working with US Representatives very well."

"The Oil is beginning to flow, and the professionalism and dedication between both Countries is a very nice thing to see," he wrote.

Rodriguez for her part thanked Trump on Telegram for his administration's "kind willingness to work together for "the benefit of the people of the United States and Venezuela."

On Tuesday, Venezuelan state oil firm PDVSA announced the signing of new oil contracts with the United States.

Since January, PDVSA has already shipped more than 80 million barrels of crude to the United States, according to Trump.

The new supply deals come amidst fears of a fall in global oil output due to the war in the Middle East, which has already pushed crude prices to their highest levels in a year and a half.

R.Kohli--BD