President Trump signed an executive order on Friday declaring a national emergency to protect Venezuelan government oil revenues held in U.S. Treasury accounts from seizure by private creditors and courts.
What the order does:
The executive order invokes the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) and the National Emergencies Act to block any attachment, judgment, lien, garnishment, or other judicial process against what it terms “Foreign Government Deposit Funds.”
These funds include revenues from Venezuelan oil sales and diluent purchases held in designated Treasury accounts on behalf of the Venezuelan government, the Central Bank of Venezuela, and state oil company PDVSA.
In his January 6 Truth Social announcement on the oil transfer, Trump was explicit about who would hold the purse strings.
The oil would be sold at market prices, he wrote, “and that money will be controlled by me, as President of the United States of America, to ensure it is used to benefit the people of Venezuela and the United States.”
At roughly $56 per barrel, that initial 30 to 50 million barrel transfer could be worth up to $2.8 billion. The executive order signed three days later provides the legal architecture for that arrangement, designating Treasury accounts to hold Venezuelan oil revenues and blocking any court or creditor from touching them without authorization from the Secretary of State.
The administration argues that allowing creditors to seize these funds would “substantially interfere” with U.S. efforts to achieve “economic and political stability in Venezuela.” The order cites several foreign policy objectives that would allegedly be jeopardized: stemming illegal immigration and drug trafficking linked to Venezuelan instability, countering Iranian and Hezbollah influence in the region, and promoting stability in the Western Hemisphere.
Who loses:
The timing of this EO is not coincidental. Venezuela defaulted on its sovereign debt in 2017, and creditors have been circling ever since. U.S. courts have upheld multi-billion dollar arbitration awards to ConocoPhillips ($8.7 billion) and ExxonMobil ($1.6 billion) for assets nationalized under Hugo Chavez in 2007.
A Delaware court has registered approximately $19 billion in claims against PDV Holding, the parent company of Houston-based refiner Citgo, which was auctioned off in November to Elliott Investment Management’s Amber Energy for $5.9 billion.
The executive order blocks that path, declaring these oil revenues sovereign Venezuelan property held in trust by Washington, immune from attachment or judicial process. The practical effect is to preserve billions in potential leverage for the administration’s negotiations with Caracas while freezing out bondholders and expropriated companies who have waited nearly two decades to collect.
Timeline of events:
January 3, 2026: U.S. military forces execute “Operation Absolute Resolve,” striking Caracas and capturing Nicolas Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores from the presidential palace. They are transported to New York to face federal narco-terrorism charges first filed in 2020.
January 5, 2026: Maduro and Flores arraigned in Manhattan federal court before Judge Alvin Hellerstein. Both plead not guilty. Maduro declares “I am still president of my country” and his lawyer signals a challenge to the legality of his “military abduction.” Next court date set for March 17. Same day, Delcy Rodriguez is formally sworn in as acting president by her brother Jorge, head of the National Assembly.
January 6, 2026: Trump announces Venezuela will turn over 30 to 50 million barrels of oil to the U.S., to be sold at market prices with revenues “controlled by me” for the benefit of both countries. Energy Secretary Chris Wright directed to execute immediately.
January 9, 2026: Trump signs executive order invoking IEEPA emergency powers to shield Venezuelan oil revenues in U.S. Treasury accounts from creditor lawsuits and court judgments.
