U.S. Set to Lift Certain Sanctions on Venezuela
Speaking with Reuters this past Friday, Bessent disclosed that Treasury officials have already begun "de-sanctioning the oil that's going to be sold" and examining policy adjustments to facilitate the return of Venezuelan crude revenues—currently held predominantly aboard offshore vessels—back to the South American nation.
"How can we help that get back into Venezuela, to run the government, run the security services and get it to the Venezuelan people?" Bessent stated, signaling potential additional sanctions modifications ahead.
The Treasury Secretary further indicated that approximately $5 billion in frozen IMF Special Drawing Rights belonging to Venezuela could be mobilized for economic reconstruction efforts. He predicted that smaller private-sector firms would likely rapidly reenter Venezuela's petroleum industry.
Major American energy corporations remain hesitant, however. Exxon Mobil CEO Darren Woods characterized Venezuela—holder of the planet's most extensive oil reserves—as "uninvestable" given present circumstances on Friday, pointing to inadequate legal frameworks and historical asset seizures.
Bessent's statements arrive following Washington's military operation against Caracas and the seizure of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, who was transported to New York to confront drug trafficking and weapons charges he categorically rejects.
Following the detention, President Trump announced Washington would "run" Venezuela through collaboration with Caracas officials pending a governmental transition, emphasizing American requirements for "total access… to the oil and to other things in their country."
Subsequently, Trump declared Venezuela's transitional leadership would "turn over" between 30 and 50 million barrels of "sanctioned oil" for commercial sale—proceeds designated to "benefit the people of Venezuela and the United States."
Caracas authorities have expressed willingness for diplomatic engagement with Washington while cautioning the nation "will never return to being the colony of another empire."
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