The United States has returned all $500 million from an oil sale that was part of an agreement between Venezuela and the United States last month to the Venezuelan government. An unnamed American official said this late Wednesday night, Danish time.
- Venezuela has now officially received all $500 million from the first Venezuelan oil sale, the official said.
$500 million is equivalent to almost three billion Danish kroner. The deal came after Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro was captured in a US military operation on January 3.
The money, the official said, is to be used "for the benefit of the Venezuelan people at the discretion of the US government."
The money was held in Qatar and was to serve as a "temporary, short-term account to ensure that Venezuela receives the funds it needs to function," the US official said.
During a congressional hearing last week, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the US involvement in the sale of Venezuelan oil was a short-term effort aimed at stabilizing the country, keeping the government running and helping the people.
- Essentially, we allowed Venezuela to use its own oil to generate revenue to pay teachers, firefighters and police officers and ensure that the state continues to function so that we avoid a systemic collapse, he said he.
Will set up fund
In the long term, the goal is for future profits from oil sales to be placed in a fund in the United States, the official said. If the Venezuelan government uses the money, it must be approved "in accordance with agreed procedures," the official added.
Venezuela has the world's largest oil reserves and is estimated to have about a fifth of global reserves. Yet the country only accounts for about 0.8 percent of global oil production.
This is due, among other things, to decades of inadequate maintenance of the oil infrastructure, a lack of international investment and foreign sanctions, which have hit the industry hard.
US President Donald Trump's administration last week eased some sanctions on Venezuela's oil industry. Trump has made no secret of his desire to have full access to Venezuela's crude oil.
/ritzau/Reuters
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