More than US$12.26 billion in Venezuelan oil and mineral money has passed through a bank account controlled by the US Treasury Department, according to a 53-page State Department report released Thursday. Washington says it wants to "promote transparency and accountability in the management of these funds." The report is heavily redacted. It doesn't name the final recipients. It doesn't name the roughly 20 companies that bought the oil and gold.
Who Has the Power
The arrangement traces back to January 2026, about 10 months ago, when US forces raided Caracas, captured Nicolás Maduro and his wife, and flew them to New York City to face charges related to drug trafficking and torture. Delcy Rodríguez, then Venezuela's vice president, took over. She has since made agreements with Washington that gave the US a direct stake in profits from exports of oil and other minerals.
President Trump then issued an executive order establishing special bank accounts to hold the revenue, to be "distributed back to Venezuela in a controlled manner." Controlled by whom? The US Treasury. An account first opened at Qatar National Bank in January, with about $500m deposited. Almost all of it went back to Venezuelan entities by late January, when a separate Treasury-controlled account took over.
Between January 3 and September 30, 2026, roughly nine months of account activity, the account took in more than US$12.26 billion. About 99 percent related to oil purchases. Each depositor had to be vetted by Washington for sanctions and money-laundering compliance. The vetting happened behind closed doors, and the names stay hidden. Trump touted the revenue during campaigning before this month's midterm elections.
Where the Money Went
Of the total, US$12.11 billion, or 98.7%, has been disbursed. US$168.56 million remained as of September 30. About US$133 million paid directly for supplies and services the Venezuelan government needed. Some of the named payments: US$5 million to the Miami law firm Greenberg Traurig, nearly US$24 million for dialysis and coal-mining equipment, and US$8.7 million to settle Venezuela's vaccine debts to the Pan American Health Organization.
The bulk went another way. By the end of September, nearly all funds had been distributed to a set of Venezuelan banks for foreign exchange interventions, in which banks sell dollars to reduce the local currency in circulation and prop up the bolivar. The report says approximately $9.4bn went to "legal entities" and $2.9bn to "individuals." That's all it says. Bloomberg reports approximately US$9 billion was used to inject dollars into the Venezuelan economy.
So a Miami law firm gets a named line item, and the people who live in Venezuela get categories. Who, exactly, are the "legal entities" that collected $9.4bn? The report doesn't say.
Auditing the Auditors, Betting on the Outcome
The State Department has contracted the Washington, DC-based auditing firm KPMG to examine the transactions. The overseer is hired by the account's own controller.
Venezuelan rights activists have expressed concern that Washington may give outsized importance to oil revenues and take little interest in backing democratic reforms. Meanwhile, on Polymarket, traders gave Rodríguez, described as Venezuela's interim leader, a 96.9% chance of still being the de facto leader at the end of 2026, with US$446,000 traded. They put the odds of an election being scheduled by June 30, 2027 at 48.5%, with US$678,000 traded, as of 2:04 p.m. ET on November 12, 2026. Gamblers are pricing in Venezuela's political future like a horse race.
It is unclear what happens to the remaining US$168.56 million or how long the arrangement will continue. No date for a next report has been announced.
- venezuelan oil revenue
- us state department
- us treasury department
- nicolás maduro
- delcy rodríguez
- venezuela
- foreign exchange
- sanctions