The Trump administration’s first Venezuelan oil sales have already generated hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue.
US seizes six Venezuelan tankers in the Caribbean
The U.S. military has seized six Venezuelan tankers in the Caribbean “without incident.”
Five Democratic senators sent a letter to executives at more than a dozen major banks asking whether the Trump administration had been “approached” to handle the proceeds from the sale of Venezuelan oil. The administration says it has already generated hundreds of millions of dollars.
The letter, sent by Sens. Elizabeth Warren, Ron Wyden, Sheldon Whitehouse, Peter Welch, and Brian Schatz on January 15, asks banks whether they are financially supporting President Trump’s oil deals after the United States overthrew Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.
“Given the rapidly evolving situation and the lack of clarity on the government’s plans regarding Venezuelan oil and the funds derived from oil sales, we write to seek answers,” the lawmakers said in the letter.
The letter was addressed to the heads of 15 major banks, including Bank of America, Deutsche Bank, Citigroup, HSBC and JPMorgan. Spokespeople for both banks either declined comment or did not respond to questions from USA TODAY.
Since U.S. forces seized Maduro in a secret military operation on Jan. 3, President Donald Trump has said the U.S. would “run” Venezuela, including taking control of the world’s largest oil reserves.
In recent weeks, President Trump has teased the lucrative opportunity of unlocking Venezuela’s reserves in front of top U.S. oil companies in the wake of Maduro’s detention. On January 9, he welcomed oil company executives to the White House to lobby for “energizing the Venezuelan nation, restoring its economy, and creating massive wealth for corporations.”
The administration has secured its first sale of Venezuelan oil in a deal worth $500 million, and more similar deals are in the works, administration officials said this week. Some of those funds will be held in an account in the Persian Gulf nation of Qatar, three sources told USA TODAY.
“To ensure the legitimacy and integrity of the final revenue distribution, all proceeds from the sale of Venezuelan crude oil and petroleum products will first be settled into U.S.-managed accounts at globally recognized banks,” a fact sheet released by the Department of Energy on January 7 said.
An executive order signed by President Trump on January 9 aimed at “protecting Venezuelan oil revenues” held by the Treasury Department called these funds “sovereign property of Venezuela controlled by the United States.”
The Trump administration has not detailed how the money from oil sales will be distributed, and the White House did not address USA TODAY’s questions about whether some funds are being held in banks in Qatar. The White House did not respond to requests for comment on the letter.
Machado says he presented President Trump with Nobel Peace Prize medal
Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Colina Machado said she presented President Donald Trump with the Nobel Peace Prize medal during their meeting.
With Maduro gone, interim President Delcy Rodriguez is working to make Trump’s dream of American access to Venezuelan oil a reality.
In his first State of the Union address on January 15, Rodriguez called on Venezuela to stand up to the United States, but he also suggested regulatory reforms that would open up Venezuela’s oil fields to foreign investment.
The reforms will allow “these investment flows to be integrated into new areas, areas where investment has not been made before,” he said.
