Former Uruguayan president Luis Lacalle Pou has publicly demanded a democratic transition in Venezuela and criticised a sweeping oil agreement under which Venezuela's interim government granted US firm North American Blue Energy Partners century-long exploitation rights over 17 fields containing roughly 65 billion barrels of reserves. Writing on X, the National Party leader said the issue was about "democracy, functioning institutions, rulers legitimately elected by the citizenry" — not business or resource exploitation. The intervention has reignited Uruguay's long-running foreign policy dispute over Venezuela, with opposition senators backing Lacalle Pou's stance while governing coalition senator Daniel Caggiani dismissed the remarks as "late and insufficient," noting that US involvement in Venezuela began eight months ago without elections being called.