Trump Declares Emergency to Protect Venezuelan Oil Revenues
According to the White House, the measure represents a “national emergency” intended to safeguard the funds in order to “advance US foreign policy objectives” across the region.
Trump stated that American firms would gain entry into Venezuela’s oil sector, noting that President Nicolas Maduro and his wife were abducted during a US special forces raid on a compound in Caracas last week. Venezuela denounced the action as a blatant breach of its sovereignty.
The order “blocks any attachment, judgment, decree, lien, execution, garnishment, or other judicial process” against Venezuelan oil and diluent revenues stored by the Treasury, the White House explained. It further warned that losing control of the funds could “empower malign actors like Iran and Hezbollah” and “directly jeopardize US objectives.”
Meeting with US energy executives on Friday, Trump announced that companies would commit at least $100 billion to Venezuelan oil development. US Energy Secretary Chris Wright added that Washington intends to market Venezuelan oil “indefinitely.”
Exxon CEO Darren Woods, however, remarked that socialist-run Venezuela was “uninvestable” without sweeping reforms in its energy industry.
American oil corporations have maintained claims dating back to the nationalization of production in the 2000s under Maduro’s predecessor, Hugo Chavez. Trump cited the “unfair” confiscation of US corporate assets as one of the justifications for the raid against Maduro.
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