The U.S. effort, led by the State Department, has also gotten assistance from Evanan Romero, a former executive at the Venezuelan state-owned oil company Petróleos de Venezuela who now works as a consultant in Houston, a person in the industry said.

Romero told POLITICO that the Trump administration’s outreach included brokering a meeting in Washington in late November, led by Energy Secretary Chris Wright, among Exxon, ConocoPhillips and representatives of a Venezuelan opposition group to which Romero belongs. The discussion centered on the possibility of the two oil majors returning to the country.

Romero, who did not attend the meeting but was given a readout from opposition group members, described the meeting as “positive” and said Wright’s presence was “very, very helpful.” He said Exxon and ConocoPhillips aired concerns about the debt they are owed from their past Venezuela operations, and the Venezuelan representatives floated the opportunity to take control of additional fields to compensate for the debt.

Wow, the opposition really sounds like the voice of the people!

Corporate people, that is. :romney: