Democrats demand to know where Venezuelan oil revenue is going

Democrats demand to know where Venezuelan oil revenue is going - The Washington Post

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Democrats demand to know where Venezuelan oil revenue is going

The Trump administration seized control of Venezuelan oil after capturing President Nicolás Maduro in January.

September 17, 2026 at 7:55 a.m. EDT

55 minutes ago

*Drilling rigs at an oil well in the state of Monagas, Venezuela. (Carlos Garcia Rawlins/Reuters)*

AmericasChevron right

By

Samantha Schmidt

Three Democratic senators are pressing the Trump administration for transparency on billions of dollars in oil revenue from Venezuela believed to be in a U.S. government-controlled account.

In a letter obtained by The Washington Post, Sens. Ron Wyden (D-Oregon), Elizabeth Warren (D-Massachusetts) and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-Rhode Island) are asking Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Secretary of State Marco Rubio for information about the status and use of this revenue, which is being disbursed from an account controlled by the Treasury.

After capturing President Nicolás Maduro in January, the Trump administration said it would take control of oil flowing from the South American nation, with proceeds from sales “deposited into accounts controlled by the U.S. government.”

For months, the senators write, officials have “failed to explain where that money has gone and whether any safeguards have been implemented to prevent misappropriation of Venezuela’s funds or potential Trump Administration corruption in directing them to politically favored insiders.”

Rubio, testifying before the House Foreign Affairs Committee in June, said the money was being deposited in a Treasury-blocked account at Citibank, and that KPMG is being paid out of those funds to audit “every single expenditure.”

But those audits have not been made public, the Democratic senators write, “nor is it clear that any audits have occurred at all.”

“This arrangement, particularly given the lack of transparency, raises concerns that the Administration may use its control over the revenues to direct billions in funds without congressional authorization or approval,” they write.

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