Trump seeks to stop courts from seizing Venezuela oil revenue
U.S. President Donald Trump takes questions from members of the media during a meeting with oil and gas executives in the East Room of the White House on January 9, 2026 in Washington, DC.
Alex Wong | Getty Images
US President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Friday aimed at preventing the seizure of Venezuelan oil revenues held in US Treasury accounts.
executive order It states that proceeds held in foreign sovereign deposit funds are “held solely for sovereign purposes” and that any court attempt to seize the funds would “materially harm the national security and foreign policy” of the United States
The order, which declared a national emergency, said the funds were the sovereign property of Venezuela and were held in U.S. custody for government and diplomatic purposes and were not assets subject to special claims. The resolution states that using any judicial process against the funds would interfere with efforts to “maintain economic and political stability in Venezuela.”
Trump signed the order nearly a week after U.S. military forces captured Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, in Caracas. Both were indicted on drug trafficking charges and pleaded not guilty.
Since the military operation, Trump has said both countries are “working well together” to rebuild Venezuela’s oil and gas infrastructure and that American oil majors will invest at least $100 billion in the South American country.
Trump met with top oil industry executives on Friday afternoon in an effort to get U.S. oil companies to invest in Venezuela. In that meeting, ExxonMobil CEO Darren Woods told Trump that Venezuela is “uninvestable” right now.
ConocoPhillips And ExxonMobil It emerged from Venezuela after the government under President Hugo Chavez nationalized the country’s oil sector and many other key industries. Both companies have filed arbitration cases against Venezuela, seeking billions of dollars in compensation for assets expropriated by the government.
Strip It is currently the only major U.S. oil company operating in Venezuela with a special license granted by the Trump administration.
In his order Friday, Trump cited the International Emergency Economic Powers Act of 1977 and the National Emergencies Act of 1976 as legal justification for protecting Venezuela’s oil revenue in U.S. accounts.
The White House did not immediately respond to CNBC’s request for comment.
