Trump praises Delcy Rodríguez as 'highly respected' after oil deal with Venezuela

In just a few months, Delcy Rodríguez went from Nicolás Maduro's vice-president to "highly respected interim president of Venezuela", in the words of Donald Trump. The promotion came in the post in which the American announced what he calls the biggest oil agreement in history.

Maduro is imprisoned in New York, after being captured in a United States operation. Chavismo, however, remains in power, now aligned and supervised by Washington, which has just obtained majority control over more than 65 billion barrels of proven Venezuelan oil reserves.

Trump's spin on Delcy is as impressive as the size of the deal. Hours after arresting the dictator, the American president threatened the then vice president: if she did not do "what is right", she would pay a price even greater than that paid by Maduro. Now, it is with the Chavista successor that Washington has negotiated a strategic oil agreement.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the agreement is "an important part of the country's transition and recovery." The bet is that investments will help rebuild the economy and create conditions for redemocratization.

Delcy offers a similar justification. He says that Venezuela will continue to own its oil, but needs investment. The agreement, he claims, could yield more than US$200 billion to the Venezuelan state in 25 years.

In other words, neither the US nor Delcy are in a hurry to call free and independent elections.

The turn is also extraordinary for Chavismo, a movement that made anti-imperialism one of its banners. Delcy herself accused the opposition of wanting to hand over the oil to their "masters" in Washington. Now thank Trump and Rubio for such an agreement.

Washington also does not hide its interests. The agreement reduces the influence of China and Russia. The White House talks about ensuring "American dominance" in the region.

The fields will be controlled by the company of Venezuelan Alejandro Betancourt, the target of a Swiss arrest warrant related to an investigation on suspicion of money laundering.

Oppositionist María Corina Machado questioned Delcy's legitimacy to negotiate the country's resources. He also said that oil is only part of the reconstruction and that there will be no development without solid institutions and a government elected by popular vote.

The divergence exposes an important reversal. Washington is betting that oil, economic recovery and stability will help lead Venezuela to democracy. María Corina argues that democratic institutions are necessary to guarantee recovery itself. At present, however, Delcy is the one who manages oil, recovery and stability.

The agreement could benefit it in the short term: it reinforces its connection with Trump and reduces American incentives to press for changes as long as there is a leadership in Caracas willing to fulfill the deal. This does not mean that Delcy is guaranteed power. The agreement is unpopular, and its benefits may be delayed.

But the deal created a dilemma that did not exist when Maduro fell. The US now has a huge economic and strategic interest tied to Venezuelan stability, as well as a "highly respected" successor to Maduro tasked with ensuring it.