The administration of US President Donald Trump has amassed over $13 billion in revenue from the sale of Venezuelan oil since the beginning of the year. This is according to calculations by the authoritative Financial Times (ft.com), based on supply data from the Kpler platform and price estimates from the Argus Media agency. Washington took control of Venezuela's oil exports after President Nicolas Maduro was ousted from power in January 2026 and Vice President Delcy Rodriguez took over under US dictation.
Where are the billions going?
Despite the huge amounts generated, the fate of the money remains shrouded in mystery. Initially, the White House announced that the funds would be kept in blocked accounts under American custody for the benefit of the Venezuelan people. However, there are no written reports. According to data cited by LIGA.net (biz.liga.net), the official online tracking tool created by Caracas registered only one transfer from the United States worth $300 million in March.
Meanwhile, the State Department claims that "billions of dollars have already been transferred back into the Venezuelan economy" for salaries and equipment, but without providing clear evidence of this.
Congress pressure and humanitarian crisis
The lack of accountability has caused serious dissatisfaction in the US Congress from both parties. Republicans and Democrats are demanding full transparency, with concerns about backroom schemes and corruption. The issue became critical after two devastating earthquakes in Venezuela on June 24, which caused damage to $37 billion according to UN estimates. The US has allocated just $386 million in direct humanitarian aid and announced that part of the oil bills would go to reconstruction, but again refused to name specific amounts.
Economists emphasize to Yahoo News (yahoo.com) that while the US controls the funds, Venezuela's economic growth in the first quarter was only 2.5% - the lowest in five years, leaving the country in a severe crisis despite having the largest oil reserves in the world.