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By Bloomberg News
Harry Sargeant III, a Florida energy tycoon who served as a longtime back channel between Washington and Caracas, agreed to sell his interests in Venezuela’s second-largest oil producer following a pressure campaign to force him out.
Sargeant on Friday signed a $300 million deal to sell his offshore company, Bluewave Properties Ltd., through which he owned a minority stake in North American Blue Energy Partners, according to multiple people familiar with the transaction. The buyer was a party close to NABEP’s controlling shareholder, Venezuelan businessman Alejandro Betancourt, according to the people, who asked not to be identified discussing details of the deal.
Sargeant declined to comment on the transaction. Betancourt and a representative for NABEP didn’t immediately reply to messages.
Sargeant had come under intense pressure from the Trump administration to divest his position in the company. The Treasury Department froze the assets of Bluewave Properties and a separate Treasury license allowed Sargeant to unwind his interests in the firm, Bloomberg previously reported.
Bluewave hadn’t been listed on Treasury’s sanctions list as of Monday, but the company is operating on the premise that it is sanctioned, the people said.
The deal was signed Friday afternoon, shortly before the Treasury Department notified Sargeant’s attorney of the dual actions, the people said.
A Treasury spokesperson didn’t reply to messages seeking comment.
During years of deep hostility between the US and Venezuela, Sargeant leveraged rare access on both sides to convey messages back and forth. In 2025, the Republican Party donor and former US Marine pilot helped free US hostages detained in Venezuela. At the same time, he cultivated deals in a country most oil companies shunned because of political risk and US sanctions.
NABEP has navigated political swings in Venezuela and economic sanctions in recent years to grow production to 160,000 barrels a day, according to Petroleos de Venezuela SA and industry estimates. It pioneered a more flexible contract model with PDVSA, the state-owned driller, that gave it more operational control. That structure has since become the standard for new entrants in the sector.
After US forces captured former strongman Nicolás Maduro in January, Sargeant fell out of favor with the White House at the behest of Venezuela hawks and US allies who view him and others as having enabled Maduro to cling to power.
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