Swiss prosecutors withdraw oilman’s extradition bid after US contact

Switzerland withdrew its extradition request for Venezuelan oil executive Alejandro Betancourt after talks with US officials, SRF reported on Tuesday, citing the Washington Post and Switzerland’s French-language broadcaster RTS.

Swiss authorities have been investigating Betancourt since 2019 over suspected money laundering. He denies any wrongdoing. The Swiss request, submitted to the United Kingdom in November 2025, led to his arrest and a travel ban while British authorities reviewed the case.

Betancourt is described as a preferred US government contact in Venezuela’s oil sector. His company is currently the country’s second-largest private oil producer, and he has close ties to Venezuela’s political elite, including direct access to interim President Delcy Rodriguez.

After US authorities captured longtime ruler Nicolás Maduro in January, Betancourt became an important intermediary between Washington and Caracas, particularly on oil issues. US President Donald Trump announced an agreement with Venezuela last Friday that would give the United States access to more than 65 billion barrels of Venezuelan oil. Betancourt’s company is expected to play a central role in the agreement.

In the weeks after Maduro’s capture, the US State Department and later the Justice Department contacted Swiss federal authorities. Switzerland’s Federal Office of Justice confirmed to RTS that a brief conversation had taken place, but said the federal prosecutor had referred the US officials to the Zurich prosecutor’s office. The Washington Post reported that further discussions then took place with Zurich prosecutors.

The US message was that Betancourt had to be able to travel and that Washington would prefer to resolve the matter without criminal penalties, according to the report.

In May, the Zurich prosecutor’s office initiated the withdrawal of Switzerland’s extradition request from the United Kingdom. The office told RTS that the decision was due to “specific features of British extradition law.” It said the withdrawal applied only to the UK extradition proceedings and that the criminal investigation against Betancourt would continue.

At the same time, Switzerland reportedly asked the United States to arrest Betancourt if he entered US territory. Washington did not do so. Instead, the US government issued him a multiple-entry visa in June. He has since travelled several times to the United States and Venezuela.

Switzerland’s Federal Department of Foreign Affairs declined to comment on the Washington Post report. The case leaves open the question of how much influence US efforts had on the course of the Swiss proceedings.