Trump Declares National Emergency Over Venezuelan Oil

President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Jan. 9 declaring a national emergency to block courts or private creditors from seizing Venezuelan oil revenues held in U.S. Treasury accounts, saying that any legal loss of control over the funds would threaten U.S. national security and foreign policy objectives.

The order, titled “Safeguarding Venezuelan Oil Revenue for the Good of the American and Venezuelan People,” establishes a legal firewall around proceeds derived from Venezuelan oil sales that are deposited in designated Treasury accounts, known as the Foreign Government Deposit Funds.
“The preservation of the Foreign Government Deposit Funds is of the utmost importance to the United States,” Trump wrote, declaring that the risk of judicial attachment constitutes an “unusual and extraordinary threat” to U.S. national security.

The order states that the funds remain the sovereign property of Venezuela and are held by the United States in a strictly custodial capacity, not as U.S. commercial holdings or assets subject to the jurisdiction of courts that could be used to settle private claims.

Trump said the funds must be preserved to support U.S. efforts to stabilize Venezuela, curb illegal immigration and inflows of deadly drugs that kill many thousands of Americans each year, and counter foreign adversaries operating in the Western Hemisphere.

“By safeguarding these oil revenues, President Trump is promoting stability in Venezuela while advancing America First objectives: stopping illegal immigration, blocking deadly narcotics, and countering malign foreign influence,” the White House said in a fact sheet.

Under a U.S. agreement with Venezuela’s interim leaders, up to 50 million barrels of Venezuelan crude oil are to be supplied to the United States, where numerous refineries are specially equipped to refine it.

Trump said in the order that firewalling the oil sales proceeds was authorized under the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act and the 1976 National Emergencies Act.

US Custody Over Venezuelan Oil Proceeds

Trump’s order targets revenues from Venezuelan natural resource sales or diluent transactions that are paid to or held by the U.S. federal government on behalf of Venezuela, including its central bank and state oil company, Petróleos de Venezuela.

Under the order, any attachment, lien, garnishment, or other judicial action against those funds is prohibited and deemed “null and void” unless explicitly authorized by the U.S. government.

The measure also bars any transfer or use of the funds except under regulations issued by federal agencies, while empowering the Treasury Department and Attorney General Pam Bondi to assert sovereign immunity over the funds in any court or administrative proceedings.

Several major oil companies have longstanding arbitration claims against Venezuela stemming from asset nationalizations under former leader Hugo Chávez. Companies, including Exxon Mobil and ConocoPhillips, exited Venezuela nearly two decades ago and are still owed billions of dollars.

US Oil Companies to Restore Venezuela’s Production Capacity

Trump signed the order the same day he hosted executives from major energy companies—including Chevron, Exxon Mobil, ConocoPhillips, Shell, and Halliburton—at the White House to discuss investment plans for rebuilding Venezuela’s oil sector. Trump said companies would invest at least $100 billion to rebuild Venezuela’s dilapidated energy infrastructure and restore production capacity.

“When you add Venezuela and the United States together, we have 55 percent of the oil in the world,” Trump said at the meeting, adding that his administration would decide “very soon” which oil companies would be permitted to operate in the country under U.S. security guarantees.

Trump said companies would deal directly with Washington rather than Venezuelan authorities and that oil revenues would be controlled by the United States to ensure they are used for reconstruction and humanitarian purposes, for the benefit of both the American and Venezuelan people.
The order builds on the administration’s decision to selectively roll back sanctions on Venezuelan oil exports while maintaining strict U.S. control over the proceeds.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt recently said that Washington had already started marketing Venezuelan crude globally through major traders and banks.

“All proceeds from the oil sales will first settle in U.S.-controlled accounts at globally recognized financial institutions,” Leavitt said.

Vice President JD Vance recently described the oil policy as a form of “high-quality diplomacy” that allows Washington to exert pressure without military escalation.

“The way that we control Venezuela is we control the purse strings, we control the energy resources,” Vance said in a Jan. 7 interview. “You’re allowed to sell the oil so long as you serve America’s national interest.”

Trump’s order came less than a week after U.S. forces captured Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro in Caracas and transferred him to the United States to face federal drug and arms trafficking charges. Maduro and his wife have pleaded not guilty.