US releases report on management of more than $12bn from Venezuelan oil and mineral resources

The United States Department of State has released a 53-page report detailing how more than $12bn in revenue from Venezuelan oil and mineral resources was handled under Washington-controlled arrangements. The disclosure comes nearly a year after Nicolas Maduro was removed from power and taken to New York, according to the supporting material, and follows a period in which the Trump administration took direct control over the sale of Venezuelan resources. The report says the aim is to promote transparency and accountability in the management of the funds.

According to the report, the flows covered transactions between January 3, 2026 and September 30, 2026. It says the US took in more than $12.26bn from verified and approved entities engaged in authorised activities in Venezuela during that period. Most of the money came from crude oil and petroleum-based revenue, although the report also says deposits included proceeds from other mineral-related transactions.

The State Department has also hired the Washington-based auditing firm KPMG to review the transactions. The report says special bank accounts were created in January by executive order to hold revenue from Venezuelan resource sales and to distribute it back to Venezuela in a controlled manner. It also says Washington has sought to decide who can buy Venezuelan natural resources and who can profit from those sales.

Delcy Rodriguez, who took over after Maduro's removal, is described in the material as having made agreements with Washington that allowed the US to take a direct stake in profits from oil and other mineral exports. The disclosure is significant because it places Venezuela's resource income under a US-managed framework at a time when the country's political leadership has been upended. Oil remains the main source of export revenue in Venezuela, so control over those flows carries economic and political weight.

The report also suggests that Washington is treating resource management as part of a broader strategy toward Caracas, rather than as a purely financial matter. The supporting material says Trump has made Venezuela a central part of his political narrative, including during campaigning ahead of the midterm elections held earlier this month. It also says Venezuelan rights activists have raised concerns that Washington may prioritise oil revenues over support for democratic reforms after Maduro's removal.

Those concerns point to a wider debate over whether the arrangement is being used to stabilise the country or to secure strategic leverage over its resources. What remains unclear from the report is how the funds will ultimately be distributed, what oversight will apply beyond the KPMG review, and how Venezuelan authorities will respond. The material does not give a full breakdown of every deposit or withdrawal, and it is not clear how long the special accounts will remain in place.

The next developments to watch are any further US disclosures, possible legal challenges, and whether the arrangement changes the balance of power over Venezuela's oil and mineral exports.

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