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The White House announced that President Donald Trump has issued an executive order aimed at safeguarding U.S. funds generated from sales of Venezuelan oil following the removal of Nicolas Maduro. The order, signed on Friday, underscores Trump’s ongoing focus on Venezuela’s oil reserves, considering them a strategic asset in U.S. efforts to influence the country’s politics. The White House explained in a fact sheet that this move is designed to support U.S. foreign policy goals.
The executive action comes shortly after a meeting in Washington where Trump encouraged top oil executives to invest in Venezuela. The response was cautious; ExxonMobil’s CEO described the country as “uninvestable” without significant reforms. ExxonMobil and ConocoPhillips left Venezuela in 2007 after refusing demands from then-President Hugo Chavez to relinquish majority control to the government. Both companies are still seeking to recover billions of dollars they claim Venezuela owes them. Currently, Chevron is the only major U.S. energy company authorized to operate in Venezuela.
The order declares a national emergency to protect Venezuelan oil revenue held in U.S. Treasury accounts from seizure or legal claims, placing these funds under special protection. This measure is deemed necessary for U.S. national security and foreign policy reasons. According to the White House, “President Trump is preventing the seizure of Venezuelan oil revenue that could threaten important U.S. efforts to promote stability in Venezuela.”
Venezuela, which has been under U.S. sanctions since 2019, possesses roughly 20% of the world’s oil reserves. Once a major supplier to the U.S., Venezuela’s oil production has fallen sharply, accounting for just about 1% of global output in 2024, mainly due to years of underinvestment, sanctions, and embargoes. Trump views the country’s vast oil resources as a potential lever in his strategy to lower U.S. fuel prices.
The executive order follows a recent U.S. military operation in Venezuela that detained Maduro during a nighttime raid in the capital, resulting in casualties among Venezuelan and Cuban security forces.
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