Trump Seeks to Block Courts from Seizing Venezuelan Oil Revenue
Trump Blocks Seizure of Venezuelan Oil Revenue
U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order Friday to prevent the seizure of Venezuelan oil revenue held in U.S. Treasury accounts, following the recent capture of Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, on drug-trafficking charges.
The executive order declares a national emergency, stating the funds are sovereign property of Venezuela held for governmental purposes and are not subject to private claims. It argues that any attempt to seize the funds would harm U.S. national security and foreign policy, and interfere with efforts to stabilize Venezuela economically and politically.
Trump’s action comes almost a week after U.S. military forces apprehended Maduro and Flores in Caracas. Both have pleaded not guilty to the drug-trafficking indictment. Since then, trump has stated that the two countries “are working well together” on rebuilding Venezuela’s oil and gas infrastructure.
On Friday, Trump met with oil industry executives to encourage U.S. investment in Venezuela, with projections of at least $100 billion in investment from American oil giants. Though, ExxonMobil CEO Darren Woods told Trump that Venezuela is currently “uninvestable.”
ConocoPhillips and ExxonMobil previously exited Venezuela after the goverment,under President Hugo Chávez,nationalized key industries. Both companies have pursued arbitration cases seeking billions in compensation for expropriated assets. Chevron remains the only major U.S. oil company operating in Venezuela, through a special license granted by the Trump administration.
Trump justified the order by citing the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act and the 1976 National Emergencies Act. The White House has not yet responded to a request for further comment.