By Sarah Kinosian, Marianna Parraga and Gram Slattery CARACAS/MIAMI, Sept 5 (Reuters) - The billionaire who helped broker the Trump administration’s sweeping long-term oil deal with Venezuela was until recently a target of U.

For a decade, Venezuelan businessman Alejandro Betancourt has been ensnared in the tentacles of a sprawling Justice Department probe into a sophisticated billion-dollar money laundering scheme that US prosecutors allege embezzled funds from Venezuela’s state-owned oil company known as PDVSA.

Alejandro Betancourt, the CEO of North American Blue Energy Partners, has emerged as a central figure in President Donald Trump's landmark oil agreement with Venezuela.

NABEP secures exclusive rights to 17 Venezuelan oil fields with Pentagon equity stake, displacing Chinese and Russian operators in a $100B deal.

Elliott Abrams, Trump's former special envoy to Venezuela, tells Newsweek about the risks of a deal with Delcy Rodriguez.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio turned to a respected familiar voice to Venezuelans this week as the Trump administration faced mounting criticism over its cooperation with interim Venezuelan leader Delcy Rodríguez and its decision to place controversial businessman Alejandro Betancourt at the center of a historic oil agreement.

The man behind the company that the US is partnering with in Venezuela is Alejandro Betancourt. He has faced multiple investigations in Spain, the United States and Switzerland for money laundering.