EO-14373
Safeguarding Venezuelan Oil Revenue for the Good of the American and Venezuelan People
- Signed
- Jan 9, 2026
- Published
- Jan 15, 2026
Federal Register: 2026-00831
Source: Federal Register.
Shields Venezuelan oil funds held by U.S. from court seizure
What it does
This order declares a national emergency and directs the U.S. Treasury to protect funds derived from Venezuelan oil and gas transactions — held in U.S. government accounts on Venezuela's behalf — from being seized, frozen, or attached by court orders. It designates those funds as sovereign Venezuelan property held in U.S. custody, not as U.S. government assets. The Secretary of State would control how and when those funds are disbursed, with the stated goal of supporting political and economic stability in Venezuela.
Who benefits
The Venezuelan government and its state-owned entities (the Central Bank of Venezuela and Petróleos de Venezuela, S.A.), which retain access to oil revenue funds rather than losing them to creditors. U.S. foreign policy officials who gain leverage over Venezuelan political outcomes. U.S. energy companies that sell diluents to Venezuela or buy Venezuelan oil, whose ongoing commercial arrangements would be stabilized. Countries and populations in the Western Hemisphere that the order argues would benefit from a more stable Venezuela.
Who is affected
Private creditors and bondholders — including U.S. investors and pension funds — who hold legal judgments against Venezuela or its state entities and were seeking to collect through U.S. courts. Companies that transacted with Venezuela and are owed money through commercial arbitration awards. Venezuelan citizens and civil society groups who argue the Maduro government should not control these funds. U.S. courts, whose ability to enforce existing judgments against these specific assets would be blocked. Victims of Venezuelan government actions who had pursued legal remedies in U.S. courts.
Supporters argue
Supporters argue that allowing private creditors to seize sovereign Venezuelan funds through U.S. courts would undermine sensitive diplomatic negotiations aimed at stabilizing Venezuela, reducing migration flows, and countering the influence of Iran and Hezbollah in the region. They contend that IEEPA grants the president broad, well-established authority to block transactions involving foreign government property when a national emergency threatens U.S. foreign policy, and that the president's constitutional role as the sole organ of foreign affairs gives him wide latitude to protect assets that are instruments of diplomacy rather than commercial property.
Opponents argue
Opponents argue that shielding Venezuelan government funds from court-ordered collection effectively nullifies valid legal judgments won by private creditors — including U.S. investors — who followed lawful processes to recover debts, raising serious due process concerns. They contend that using IEEPA to protect a foreign government's assets from its own creditors stretches the statute beyond its intended purpose of responding to external threats, and that the major-questions doctrine may require clearer congressional authorization before the executive branch can override domestic court judgments at this scale. Critics also argue the order benefits the Maduro government, which U.S. courts and prior administrations treated as illegitimate.
Constitutional basis
Executive orders rest on constitutional authority or statutory delegation. This summary describes the legal grounding cited or implied by the order.
The order invokes the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), 50 U.S.C. §1701 et seq., and the National Emergencies Act (NEA), 50 U.S.C. §1601 et seq., as its primary statutory authority, both of which are delegations of Congress's foreign commerce and national security powers. It also cites the president's Article II authority as Commander in Chief and Chief Executive over foreign affairs. The order could be reversed by a future president and does not require congressional approval, though the NEA requires periodic reporting to Congress.