US President Donald Trump has signed an executive order to protect Venezuelan oil money from being seized by courts or creditors, AFP news agency reports.
The money is in the US. If the money is confiscated, it would harm US efforts to ensure economic and political stability in Venezuela, according to a fact sheet about the decree.
It would also harm US goals to reduce immigration to the US and the flow of drugs, it says.
The decree comes a week after the US captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. Trump has made it clear that one of the purposes of removing him from power was to boost oil production in the South American country.
Trump signed the new executive order on Friday. That same day, he met with a number of top executives from oil companies that he wants to invest in Venezuela.
But he was met with hesitation from business leaders. The head of ExxonMobil went so far as to say that it would require extensive reforms in Venezuela if it was to make sense to launch investments there.
ExxonMobil pulled out of the country in 2007 after the company would not agree to demands from then-president Hugo Chávez to hand over control of the company's assets to the state.
So did ConocoPhillips, and the two oil companies have since struggled to collect billions that they believe Venezuela owes them. Today, only one American oil company - Chevron - has permission to produce in Venezuela.
The country holds about a fifth of the world's oil reserves, but only a small part of it is sold. In 2024, Venezuela accounted for about one percent of total oil production in the world. Trump sees the huge oil reserves as an obvious opportunity to bring down fuel prices in the United States.
/ritzau/AFP
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