On Friday, January 9, 2026, US President Donald Trump issued an Executive Order (“EO”) to exempt Venezuelan oil revenues and funds derived from diluent sales held in US Treasury accounts/funds on behalf of the Government of Venezuela (defined in the EO as “Foreign Government Deposit Funds”) from attachment or other judicial process. The White House also issued a corresponding Fact Sheet summarizing the EO and outlining the Trump Administration’s related policy objectives.
The EO states that such funds are derived from the sale of natural resources from, or the sale of diluents to, the Government of Venezuela or its agencies or instrumentalities (e.g., the Central Bank of Venezuela and Petróleos de Venezuela, S.A. (PDVSA)) (together, “GoV”), and as such are the sovereign property of the GoV and exempt from private claims by judgment creditors of the GoV or commercial actors that transacted or are transacting business with the GoV.
The EO states that protecting these funds is necessary to protect US national security and foreign policy interests, and specifically provides that any judicial process, such as liens, judgments, or garnishments, against these funds is prohibited and deemed null and void, and that such funds may not be transferred, paid, exported, withdrawn, or otherwise dealt in unless licensed or otherwise authorized pursuant to the EO.
The EO also confirms that the United States government is holding these funds in a custodial capacity, not for commercial use, and that no waiver of sovereign immunity is implied by the placement of the funds into US Treasury accounts.
Further, the EO authorizes the US Secretary of State to issue instructions regarding disbursements or transfers of the funds for public, governmental, or diplomatic purposes on behalf of the GoV, which are to be implemented and processed by the US Treasury Secretary.
The EO expressly supersedes previously issued EOs related to Venezuela, but only to the extent those earlier EOs block, regulate, or otherwise affect the Foreign Government Deposit Funds. This could be read to mean that pre-existing blocking sanctions imposed on the GoV (and the state-owned energy company, PDVSA) do not apply with respect to the Foreign Government Deposit Funds, but given that such funds (by definition) sit in a US Treasury account and can only be disbursed with US government oversight under the new EO, the practical impact of this EO superseding certain blocking sanctions of earlier EOs may be limited.
Notably, the White House issued the EO on the same day that President Trump met with senior oil company executives to discuss US investment in Venezuela following the removal of President Nicolás Maduro from power. Media reports indicate that oil companies have expressed some hesitancy regarding additional investment given the heavy losses such companies faced after the expropriation of their assets in 2007 under the Hugo Chávez government. Certain companies have asserted expropriation claims for those actions and are awaiting compensation. The key takeaway from this EO is that it appears to indicate that the US government intends to hold the purse strings on funds derived from sales of Venezuela’s natural resources to guard them against such claims, instead reserving them for “public sovereign purposes,” as the funds “shall not be” used for any commercial activity in the United States. However, it remains to be seen exactly how these funds are administered with US oversight and control.
For related Venezuela developments, please stay tuned to our blog and see our most recent blog post on the geopolitical considerations for companies doing business in Venezuela and Latin America.
