The government has endorsed María Corina Machado's "Venezuela, Land of Grace"

The strengthening of political and economic ties between Donald Trump and Delcy Rodríguez has gone from being merely a gesture of diplomatic recognition to a close, long-term energy partnership. The Trump administration feels confident doing business with the ruling party and is allowing it not only to sign major agreements or receive new licenses from OFAC, but also inviting PDVSA executives to enter U.S. territory to forge closer ties with Hunt Oil and SLB.

This new agreement seeks to increase production and explore oil fields following the reform the Venezuelan government carried out to the Hydrocarbons Law at the start of 2026, which allows foreign capital into the oil and gas sectors. These two agreements were signed outside Venezuela, and it is striking how Venezuela's oil policy has changed, not only in propaganda, narratives, slogans and diplomatic gestures but in practice and in the eyes of public opinion. Venezuela is now Donald Trump's new "best partner."

In the past five months the Venezuelan government has managed to take ownership not only of María Corina Machado's narrative about investment and Venezuela as an energy "hub," but has also generated confidence that private capital from other parts of the world will pour money into the country, on the assumption that the current system may lean a little more toward the free market under Delcy Rodríguez's leadership. The way the government is acting in this context appears aimed at greater productivity and efficiency as part of its transactions with the United States.

The restructuring of the state and the search for solutions to stabilize the macroeconomic situation is another pillar that the government has taken from the "Venezuela Land of Grace" document, although this appears to be taking time, since dismantling so large a bureaucratic apparatus carries political costs. Nevertheless, the first steps have been taken with the support of the United States and the initiative to restructure external debt. Overtures to the IMF and the World Bank also show how Delcy Rodríguez's government chose to run ahead and appropriate the international actors that María Corina Machado had planned to turn to.

The government also aims to build the conditions for public and private investment, carry out some privatizations and consolidate oil production as the United States continues to ease economic sanctions. Dialogue with productive sectors remains part of the government's working agenda, and this also appears in the document of the opposition leader, as does the recovery of hydroelectric production. So much so that Ambassador John Barret recently visited Guri to carry out an inspection together with the Ministry of Electric Energy and Corpoelec. Politically, these are fairly clear signals; everything communicates.

What can we expect? A deepening of relations between Venezuela and the United States based on a pragmatic, transactional relationship centered on energy; a less watched, less regulated and more competitive economy; targeted reforms at the Supreme Court of Justice (TSJ) as part of some confidence-building steps; appointments of professionals and technicians to strategic areas of the government; a reduction in dogmatic and confrontational political propaganda; and permanent electoral campaigning. While the government keeps building its "Venezuela Land of Grace" plan in its own way, María Corina Machado has not been able to become a decisive actor in this era of change. The "political friendship" among Delcy, Trump and Marco Rubio appears set to define the country for the coming months.

For Trump, María Corina Machado remains the winner of the Nobel Prize, even though she gave it to him.