Overview
- A U.S. military operation in January 2026 removed Nicolás Maduro and led to an agreement that Venezuela’s sanctioned oil sales be placed in accounts held in custody by the U.S. Treasury.
- Early receipts were routed through a Qatari account that processed roughly $500 million before the administration closed it and moved the funds into a Citibank account under Treasury control.
- Financial analyses published in July estimate about $13 billion in oil revenue has flowed since Maduro’s ouster, and fact-checkers say President Trump’s public claims of “hundreds of billions” are not supported by the data.
- The administration promised quarterly audits, an online transparency portal and that proceeds would fund Venezuelan needs such as government pay and relief, but it has not produced the full audits congressional Democrats and watchdogs have demanded.
- The arrangement raises legal and humanitarian questions — including how much money actually reaches Venezuelan civilians and how U.S. control of revenues could set a precedent for directing another country’s finances.