Trump Venezuela Policy

Sen. Elizabeth Warren and several Senate Democrats have launched a formal probe into how major U.S. banks are helping the Trump administration sell up to 50 million barrels of Venezuelan oil that Caracas’ interim authorities agreed to hand over to Washington. Their letters follow Trump’s Jan. 3 announcement that the oil would be sold "immediately," a Jan. 7 Energy Department statement that 'key banks' must execute and finance the deals with proceeds held in 'U.S.-controlled accounts at globally recognized banks,' and a Jan. 9 executive order declaring a national emergency to shield Venezuelan oil revenue in U.S. Treasury accounts from attachment or lawsuits. The lawmakers say it now "appears" at least some oil proceeds will be held by the Treasury despite being sovereign Venezuelan property and warn that the administration has provided no clarity about which institutions are involved or how funds will be managed, raising red flags about transparency, legality and potential profiteering. They are demanding Bank of America, Goldman Sachs, UBS and other giants disclose any contacts with the Trump team over Venezuelan oil or related military operations, whether they are holding or plan to hold Venezuelan oil proceeds, and all related communications, with initial answers due by the end of January and monthly updates thereafter. The letters put Wall Street squarely in the crosshairs of growing political and legal scrutiny over the U.S. decision to "run" Venezuela’s oil sales after a U.S. raid removed Nicolás Maduro, and they foreshadow a battle over whether those flows serve Venezuelans, fund U.S. objectives, or quietly enrich intermediaries.