Washington DC, Sept. 1 -- Washington has finalised a strategic agreement giving the United States a direct ownership stake in Venezuelan oil fields, previously influenced by Chinese and Russian corporations.

Executed through the Pentagon's Office of Strategic Capital and partnered with a private operating firm linked to Venezuelan businessman Alejandro Betancourt, the deal secures long-term US energy supplies, allows crude purchases at cost, and aims to anchor a Western Hemisphere-aligned economy in Venezuela.

The block had previously been under Chinese and Russian corporate influence and holds an estimated 65 billion barrels of proven reserves, a fraction, officials noted, of Venezuela's total reserves, which they put at more than doub...