US Energy Secretary Chris Wright visits Venezuela to assess oil industry overhaul

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — United States Energy Secretary Chris Wright arrived Wednesday in Venezuela for a firsthand assessment of the country's oil industry, a visit that further asserts the U.S. government's self-appointed role in turning around Venezuela’s dilapidated energy sector.

Wright met Venezuela's acting President Delcy Rodríguez at the Miraflores presidential palace in the capital, Caracas. He is expected to meet with government officials, oil executives and others during a three-day visit to the South American country.

Wright’s visit comes as the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump continues to lift sanctions to allow foreign companies to operate in Venezuela and help rebuild the nation’s most important industry. It follows last month’s enactment of a Venezuelan law that opened the nation’s oil sector to private investment, reversing a tenet of the self-proclaimed socialist movement that has ruled the country for more than two decades.

“I bring today a message from President Trump,” Wright told reporters as he stood next to Rodríguez with flags from both countries behind them. “He is passionately committed to absolutely transforming the relationship between the United States and Venezuela, part of a broader agenda to make the Americas great again, to bring our countries closer together, to bring commerce, peace, prosperity, jobs, opportunity to the people of Venezuela.”

Rodríguez was sworn into her new role after the brazen Jan. 3 seizure of then-President Nicolás Maduro in a U.S. military attack in Caracas. She proposed the overhaul of the country’s energy law after Trump said his administration would take control of Venezuela’s oil exports and revitalize the ailing industry by luring foreign investment.

Rodríguez on Wednesday acknowledged that Venezuela’s relationship with the U.S. has had “highs and lows” but said both countries are now working on a mutually benefiting “energy agenda.”

“Let diplomatic dialogue ... and energy dialogue be the appropriate and suitable channels for the U.S. and Venezuela to maturely determine how to move forward,” she said.

Rodríguez’s government expects the changes to the country's oil law to serve as assurances for major U.S. oil companies that have so far hesitated about returning to the volatile country. Some of those companies lost investments when the ruling party enacted the existing law two decades ago to favor Venezuela’s state-run oil company, PDVSA.

The new law now grants private companies control over oil production and sales, ending PDVSA's monopoly over those activities as well as pricing. It also allows for independent arbitration of disputes, removing a mandate for disagreements to be settled only in Venezuelan courts, which are controlled by the ruling party.

Foreign investors view the involvement of independent arbitrators as crucial to guard against future expropriation.

Wright told reporters the reform “is a meaningful step in the right direction” but “probably not far and clear enough to encourage the kind of large capital flows" the U.S. would like to see in Venezuela.

Wright planned to visit oil fields Thursday.

Venezuela, which has the world’s largest proven oil reserves and produces about 1 million barrels a day, has long relied on oil revenue as a lifeblood of its economy.

Trump imposed crippling sanctions on Venezuela's oil industry during his first term, locking out the state-owned company Petróleos de Venezuela S.A. of the global oil markets in an attempt to topple Maduro. That pushed his government to rely on a shadowy fleet of unflagged tankers to smuggle deeply discounted crude into global supply chains.

In December, Trump ordered a blockade of all “sanctioned oil tankers” entering or leaving the South American country, ramping up pressure on Maduro in a move that seemed designed to put a tighter chokehold on Venezuela’s economy. U.S. forces that month also began seizing oil tankers off Venezuela’s Caribbean coast.

Since Maduro's Jan. 3 ouster, the Trump administration set out to control the production, refining and global distribution of Venezuela’s petroleum products and oversee where the revenue flows. The administration also began lifting broad sanctions, but also continued seizing tankers — now in agreement with Venezuela's government — including one this week in the Indian Ocean after it was tracked from the Caribbean Sea.

Wright on Wednesday told reporters the blockade is “essentially over” as the U.S. is “flowing Venezuelan crude out, selling it at a much higher price than Venezuela was selling it before,” and the revenue is being used in specific projects benefiting Venezuelans.

Follow AP’s coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean at https://apnews.com/hub/latin-america

Venezuelan acting President Delcy Rodriguez, right, meets with U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright, left, at Miraflores presidential palace in Caracas, Venezuela, Wednesday, Feb. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)

Venezuelan acting President Delcy Rodriguez greets U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright at Miraflores presidential palace in Caracas, Venezuela, Wednesday, Feb. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)

Venezuelan acting President Delcy Rodriguez greets U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright at Miraflores presidential palace in Caracas, Venezuela, Wednesday, Feb. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)

FILE - Energy Secretary Chris Wright speaks as White House chief of staff Susie Wiles listens during a meeting with President Donald Trump and oil executives in the East Room of the White House, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)

NEW YORK (AP) — Jack Hughes held the ball in his hands, occasionally tossing his latest souvenir in the air.

Hughes had done “Saturday Night Live” and cherished the chance to chat with Lorne Michaels, then appeared on “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” as part of the victory lap for the U.S. Olympic gold medal-winning men’s and women’s hockey teams. It only got better Friday when Hughes and women's goaltender Aerin Frankel threw out ceremonial first pitches at Yankee Stadium prior to the New York Yankees' home opener against the Miami Marlins.

“I knew a lot of things were coming, but this was the one thing I was always like wishing-slash-hoping for,” Hughes said. "Just so much fun. For both of us, it’s unreal."

Hughes scored in overtime in the men's final at the Milan Cortina Games, a few days after Frankel backstopped the women's team to also beating Canada for gold. It's the first time the U.S. has won double gold in the sport at the Olympics, and the sled hockey team made it a clean sweep at the Paralympics.

Frankel said her life hasn't changed much since other than seeing the impact the physical gold medal has on people who had never seen one before.

“It’s cool to see how special that is for them,” said Frankel, who plays for the PHWL's Boston Fleet. “We’ve been super busy jumping back into pro seasons and stuff and making time for really cool opportunities like this.”

Frankel is from Westchester County and grew up in a family of Yankees fans. Hughes has become one over the seven years he has been in the area as the face of the franchise for the NHL’s New Jersey Devils.

Hughes played some baseball growing up but needed to get his right, throwing arm warmed up.

“We played in Dallas last week and my trainer ‘Frosty’ (Chris Scoppetto) brought gloves and I threw like 50 pitches right before morning skate,” Hughes said. “My shoulder was so sore, so I was like, ‘We’ve got to cool it.'”

Hughes' shoulder was fine. He scored twice that night against the Stars and had a five-point game Thursday night on the eve of his big baseball day.

Outside Dallas at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas, U.S. Olympic teammate and Stars No. 1 goalie Jake Oettinger was set to also throw out the first pitch Friday afternoon prior to the Rangers' home opener. Oettinger was one of two players on the team not to get into a game in Milan and joked he's “fresh as a daisy” with the playoffs fast approaching.

AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/NHL

New Jersey Devils' Jack Hughes looks on during batting practice before his ceremonial first pitch for the home-opener baseball game between the New York Yankees and the Miami Marlins, Friday, April 3, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

New Jersey Devils' Jack Hughes practices ahead of his first pitch before a home-opener baseball game between the New York Yankees and the Miami Marlins, Friday, April 3, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)