Overview
- Venezuela received $500 million from its first US-brokered crude sale after transferring an estimated 30 to 50 million barrels into US-controlled channels.
- The funds are held under US supervision in Qatar to shield them from roughly $170 billion in creditor claims, with releases limited to specified uses such as public-sector pay.
- US Energy Secretary Chris Wright said he will visit Venezuela soon to meet leadership and assess oil and gas operations, reinforcing Washington’s hands-on role.
- Acting President Delcy Rodríguez has proposed hydrocarbons-law reforms to attract investment, while analysts describe power as concentrated in a civic-military coalition.
- Humanitarian pressures remain severe as UN and EU agencies estimate 7.9 million need urgent aid and about 56% live in extreme poverty, leaving the government reliant on controlled oil revenues despite exploring gold income.