Venezuela signs deal with US energy giant to rebuild power grid

Venezuela signs deal with US energy giant to rebuild power grid9 minutes agoVanessa BuschschlüterLatin America online editorJuan BARRETO / AFP via Getty ImagesVenezuelans have endured frequent and lengthy power cuts in past yearsVenezuela's interim president has signed an agreement with US energy giant General Electric to rebuild the country's electricity grid.Delcy Rodríguez, who was sworn in shortly after US forces seized Venezuela's leader, Nicolás Maduro, in January, announced the move at a televised event at the presidential palace on Monday. The agreement is the latest sign that the interim leader - who was a fierce critic of the US before Maduro's ouster - is opening up Venezuela's economy to US investors and companies.Critics of her government have warned that while Rodríguez appears to be loosening the state's control over the economy, many key institutions remain firmly under her party's control. Venezuela suffers from frequent power cuts and its power system - which was nationalised in 2007 under Maduro's mentor, Hugo Chávez - is in dire need of repair and investment.Rodríguez described the signing of the agreement with General Electric Vernova, the US company's local branch, as "a historic step for Venezuela", which would allow the South American nation to restore what she called "an essential service".Power cuts often last 10 hours or longer and have affected major cities, including the capital, Caracas.The Maduro government had blamed a drought for the frequent outages, which meant that the Guri hydroelectric power dam - a key source of electricity - was not producing enough energy to meet demand.But analysts have long warned that a lack of investment in and maintenance of the power grid, coupled with high consumption, have created an energy crisis which has been one of the blocks to Venezuela's economic recovery.The deal with General Electric was struck under the leadership of Energy Minister Rolando Alcalá, an electrical engineer appointed to the job by Rodríguez three months ago.His appointment was seen as a welcome change after six years in which the ministry was headed by senior members of the military, who failed to fix the failing grid. Rodríguez has closely co-operated with the Trump administration on a number of matters. Last week, US forces carried out a military strike in which the leader of the Tren de Aragua criminal gang was killed. US Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth said that the operation had been carried out "in full co-operation with Venezuelan security forces", something which would have been unthinkable when Maduro was in power. However, members of Venezuela's opposition have pointed out that there have been very few changes to the legislative, executive and judicial branches since Maduro's ouster and that the electoral council is also still dominated by Maduro loyalists. Two weeks ago, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told Congress that "ultimately the answer in Venezuela is a free and fair democratic election because it's not just the right thing, it's also necessary for them to attract the kind of investment that they want".However, he added that "you have to create the conditions for that". He said those included free and open media and "space and time for political parties to organise and prepare and position themselves to participate in those elections" as well as a new electoral council.He said that "all that work is ongoing", but did not specify when elections could be held. US kills leader of Venezuela's Tren de Aragua gang in air strike, Trump saysDelcy Rodríguez visits India: Will oil talks lead to an energy deal?The US refinery now processing Venezuelan oilVenezuelaUnited StatesGeneral Electric