Oil made Venezuela rich. For decades it helped fund a stable democracy with the highest living standards in Latin America. The country was pumping(开采，抽取) 3.4m barrels a day when Hugo Chávez, a left-wing populist, was elected in 1998 on a promise to redirect(重新分配，改道) petrodollars to the poor. Instead, under his corrupt, incompetent regime, the flows of oil and cash largely dried up(枯竭，干涸). Under his chosen successor, Nicolás Maduro, the state went on a money-printing spree(狂欢，无节制行为), sparked hyperinflation(恶性通货膨胀) and drove a quarter of Venezuelans to emigrate(移民（离开本国）).
石油让委内瑞拉变得富有。几十年来，石油收入支撑了一个稳定的民主国家，其生活水平在拉丁美洲最高。1998年，左翼民粹主义者乌戈·查韦斯当选，承诺将石油美元重新分配给穷人，当时该国每天开采340万桶石油。然而，在他腐败无能的政权下，石油和现金的流动基本枯竭。在他钦点的继任者尼古拉斯·马杜罗的统治下，国家疯狂印钞，引发恶性通货膨胀，并迫使四分之一的委内瑞拉人移民国外。
Eight months ago, when Donald Trump had Mr Maduro snatched by special forces and dumped in a Brooklyn jail, Venezuelans cheered.(八个月前，特朗普让特种部队抓走马杜罗并扔进布鲁克林监狱，委内瑞拉人欢呼。) Now Mr Trump has made a deal with the ex-despot’s deputy(副手，代理人), Delcy Rodríguez, that both sides say will revive(复兴，重振) Venezuela’s oil industry. Mr Trump called it the “BIGGEST OIL DEAL IN WORLD HISTORY”. He crowed(得意洋洋地说，自夸) that it would give America “energy dominance” (after his war of choice(选择性战争，非必要战争) in Iran interrupted global supplies). The deal is certainly bold. It is also ugly(丑陋的，令人不快的).
八个月前，唐纳德·特朗普让特种部队抓走马杜罗，把他扔进布鲁克林监狱，委内瑞拉人欢呼雀跃。如今，特朗普与前独裁者的副手德尔西·罗德里格斯达成了一项协议，双方都称这将重振委内瑞拉的石油工业。特朗普称其为“世界历史上最大的石油交易”。他得意洋洋地说，这将赋予美国“能源主导权”（此前他在伊朗发动的选择之战中断了全球供应）。这笔交易无疑是大胆的，但也是丑陋的。
The regime has given North American Blue Energy Partners (NABEP), a private oil firm that was already the second-largest operating in Venezuela, the concessions to 17 oilfields containing some 65bn barrels.(该政权已授予北美蓝能合伙公司（NABEP）17个油田的特许权，该公司已是委内瑞拉第二大运营商。) America, via the Pentagon, has been given, in exchange for its backing, a 35% stake(股份，利害关系) in nabep and rights to its output. For the next century this guarantees America the right of first refusal to buy from oilfields which hold a fifth of Venezuelan oil reserves, with some of those purchases at a discount (see Americas section).(在未来一个世纪里，这保证了美国对这些油田的优先购买权，其中部分购买还有折扣。)
该政权已授予北美蓝能合伙公司（NABEP）——一家已是委内瑞拉第二大运营商的私营石油公司——17个油田的特许权，这些油田含有约650亿桶石油。作为对其支持的交换，美国通过五角大楼获得了NABEP 35%的股份及其产出权。在接下来一个世纪里，这保证了美国对购买这些油田（占委内瑞拉石油储量的五分之一）的优先购买权，其中部分购买还有折扣（见美洲版块）。
