The United States has completed its first sale of $500 million worth of Venezuelan oil, several outlets reported Thursday citing unnamed government sources.
Semafor reports that the $500 million revenue from the sale is being held in bank accounts controlled by the U.S. government, with the main account located in Qatar according to an industry source familiar with the plan. The source further detailed that Qatar represented a “neutral venue” where funds can move with U.S. approval and without risk of seizure.
The decision, the source reportedly explained, is in line with an Executive Order signed by President Donald Trump last week that safeguards Venezuelan oil revenue held in U.S. Treasury accounts from attachment or judicial process, with the aim of “ensuring these funds are preserved to advance U.S. foreign policy objectives.”
The source also told Semafor that the Venezuelan socialist regime, presently led by “acting President” Delcy Rodríguez, has “fully cooperated” with the United States, and added that the U.S. has “leverage” through sanctions and oil sales.
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“The United States Treasury is fully committed to supporting President Trump’s efforts on behalf of the people of Venezuela,” a U.S. Department of the Treasury spokesperson told Semafor.
A second unnamed official reportedly told Semafor that the main account holding the Venezuelan sale revenue is located in Qatar — a “neutral” location according to the srouce, where “money can flow freely with U.S. approval and without risk of seizure.”
“President Trump brokered a historic energy deal with Venezuela, immediately following the arrest of narcoterrorist Nicolás Maduro, that will benefit the American and Venezuelan people,” White House spokeswoman Taylor Rogers told Semafor in a statement, and added that the Trump administration is continuing “positive, ongoing discussions” with oil companies about Venezuela.
CBS News reported that Rogers shared a similar statement with the outlet. Fox News also shared Rogers’ statement:
President Trump’s team is facilitating positive, ongoing discussions with oil companies that are ready and willing to make unprecedented investments to restore Venezuela’s oil infrastructure.
President Trump is protecting our Western Hemisphere from being taken advantage of by narcoterrorists, drug traffickers, and foreign adversaries.
Reuters, citing an unnamed U.S. official, reported that additional sales of oil are expected “in the coming days and weeks.”
The Venezuelan socialist regime recently announced the sale of up to $2 billion in crude oil to the United States, a deal that Reuters emphasized last week would “divert supplies from China while helping Venezuela avoid deeper oil production cuts.”
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