Venezuela's Delcy Rodriguez signs landmark law allowing privatisation of oil sector

Venezuela’s acting president, Delcy Rodriguez, has signed a law allowing the privatisation of the country’s oil sector, marking a major shift from the socialist ideology that has guided the Venezuelan policy for more than two decades.

The development comes after Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro was captured by the United States (U.S.) in Operation Absolute Resolve.

Experts believe this to be the potential signature policy by Rodriguez, attracting foreign investment into the lucrative oil sector to revive the country's crippled economy.

She signed the law just two hours after the National Assembly approved it, signalling her readiness for a radical geopolitical and economic shift in the country.

Announcing the reform, Rodriguez said, “We are talking about the future. We are talking about the country that we are going to give to our children.” 

The new law promises autonomy to the private companies to drill, buy and sell Venezuelan oil, ending the state-owned company’s monopoly over the world’s largest oil reserves.

Venezuela’s head of the National Assembly’s oil committee, Orlando Camacho, hailed the reform, saying, “It will change the country’s economy.”

Earlier, the acting Venezuelan president held a telephonic conversation with the U.S. President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.