President Donald Trump’s administration was reportedly holding part of the proceeds from a deal made for seized Venezuelan oil in offshore accounts in Qatar.
An administration official told Semafor that the total value of the first sale of Venezuelan oil was $500 million. The move comes just days after the U.S. military conducted strikes on Venezuela and took its leader, Nicolás Maduro, into custody.
Trump has said that the U.S. would run Venezuela for an indefinite period of time, including taking control of 50 million barrels of oil. The president also indicated that he would not pay back Venezuela’s debts, saying the U.S. is “not going to look at what people lost in the past, because that was their fault.”
“Revenue from the oil sales is currently being held in bank accounts controlled by the US government, as indicated in Friday’s order, according to the administration official,” Semafor reported, “The main account, according to a second senior administration official, is located in Qatar.”
“The second official described Qatar as a neutral location where money can flow freely with US approval and without risk of seizure,” the report added. “Trump’s order noted that at least some of the revenue would be held in US Treasury accounts.”
The idea of holding money from Venezuela oil sales in foreign countries has already sparked criticism from some Democrats.
“There is no basis in law for a president to set up an offshore account that he controls so that he can sell assets seized by the American military,” Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) said recently. “That is precisely a move that a corrupt politician would be attracted to.”
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