Journalist César Batiz, the director of El Pitazo, has reconstructed in a new edition of Mapas de Poder the complex network of professional, political, and legal relationships that has surrounded Alejandro Betancourt for at least 15 years. He is one of the entrepreneurs linked to Derwick Associates, a company that received contracts during the Venezuelan electrical emergency and was later scrutinized by journalistic and judicial investigations both inside and outside of Venezuela.
Batiz traced the origin of this story to the contracts awarded during the electrical crisis. He explained that Derwick Associates, despite lacking known experience in building power plants at that time, was linked to about a dozen projects worth over $2.1 billion in roughly 14 months. In 2011, Batiz published an investigation in Últimas Noticias titled La trampa eléctrica, which examined contracts, suppliers, and prices of equipment acquired by Venezuelan state companies, discovering discrepancies that prompted a larger journalistic investigation.
The program also recalled an episode related to the book Estado delincuente, published in 2013 by Carlos Tablante and Marcos Tarre. According to Tablante’s testimony cited by Batiz, individuals connected to Derwick allegedly ordered the purchase of available copies of the first edition in various bookstores. The books, according to that account, were subsequently transported to a ranch in Carabobo and burned. Nevertheless, the publication saw new editions, and Tablante and Tarre later published El gran saqueo, where they deepened their allegations of corruption and management of public resources.
Batiz asserted that with the increase in investigations, there was also an expansion of the structure used to address the challenges. The journalist mentioned law firms, reputation management specialists, public relations experts, intermediaries, and operators present in various countries. Among the episodes examined is the attempt to publish an investigation by The Wall Street Journal on Derwick, which, according to a testimonial from Human Rights Foundation quoted in the program, ultimately went unpublished after months of work along with legal and communication efforts around the case.
Attention on Betancourt gained a new dimension when U.S. prosecutors began investigating operations related to funds from Petróleos de Venezuela (PDVSA). Batiz recalled the case known as Money Flight, presented in 2018 in Miami, in which Francisco Convit Guruceaga, Betancourt’s partner in Derwick, was accused. While U.S. investigators focused on Betancourt, he was not charged in that case. Batiz stated that in February 2020, a Homeland Security official indicated that an eventual accusation was anticipated, but it never occurred. “We don’t know, and we won’t fill that void with speculation,” the journalist noted when discussing the reasons.
Among the names mentioned in the reconstruction presented by Batiz are Rudy Giuliani, who joined Betancourt’s defense; Adam Kaufmann, a New York lawyer discussed concerning the legal manage around The Wall Street Journal’s investigation into Derwick; and José Aliste, referenced in the Spanish chapter of the investigation and linked to a bill of 500,000 euros for services related to media management. Batiz also noted Daniel Medina Sarmiento, currently known as Daniel Hernández, a Venezuelan lawyer and former prosecutor who, according to sources cited by the journalist, was reportedly paid over $10 million for participating in the defense of the so-called “bolichicos.” The network also includes Martín Rodil, identified by a source in the investigation as one of the individuals who facilitated a connection between Betancourt and U.S. authorities for actions related to his situation.
The journalist argued that the structure built over the years includes more than 23 professionals linked to the legal field and at least 11 law firms, along with advisors, lobbyists, and reputation specialists. According to sources from El Pitazo’s investigation, documented or estimated expenses related to this strategy exceed $30 million, although Batiz warned that this figure might be conservative. Among the expenses mentioned was a bill for 500,000 euros in Spain for media advisory services and he assured that it has still not been possible to determine the total cost of the structure.
The work of Mapas de Poder also indicates that the files and judicial actions related to Betancourt spanned countries such as the United States, Spain, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and Venezuela. Batiz highlighted that the entrepreneur faced investigations and, in one of the examined episodes, a Swiss extradition request from the United Kingdom that was eventually withdrawn. The journalist explicitly clarified that hiring specialized lawyers or undergoing judicial defense does not in itself constitute irregularity but suggested that the international dimension and the continuity of the professional apparatus supporting the businessman are crucial elements to understand his trajectory.
The most current aspect of the investigation now lies within the Venezuelan oil business. Betancourt is identified as the controlling shareholder of North American Blue Energy Partners (NABEP), whose production has reached around 160,000 barrels per day, according to figures from PDVSA and industry estimations originally cited by Bloomberg. The company has thus become one of the most significant private operators in Venezuelan production.
Betancourt’s position became even more prominent after U.S. businessman Harry Sargeant III agreed to exit his involvement in NABEP. Sargeant signed an agreement on August 7, 2026, for $300 million to sell Bluewave Properties Ltd., the entity through which he held a minority stake in NABEP, after facing significant pressure from the U.S. administration to abandon the investment. Bloomberg reported that the buyer was not identified, but familiar sources described them as close to Alejandro Betancourt.
Batiz precisely emphasized this distinction: so far, there’s no public information to confirm that Betancourt directly acquired Sargeant’s stake. What has been documented is that the buyer may be someone close to the Venezuelan entrepreneur. For the journalist, the episode illustrates the shift in Betancourt’s position: from facing years of international scrutiny and investigations to currently holding a strategic place in Venezuelan oil business.
“Fifteen years ago, the question was how they managed to obtain so much. Then, the question changed to how they managed to defend themselves. Today, the question changes again: how far can Alejandro Betancourt go?” closed Batiz’s investigation.