The United States has completed the first sales of Venezuelan crude oil under a recently agreed $2 billion energy deal with Caracas, a US administration official told Reuters on Wednesday.
The initial transactions were valued at about $500 million and marked the opening phase of the broader agreement reached earlier this month between Washington and Venezuela’s government.
The official said more oil sales were expected in the coming days and weeks.
Proceeds from the first sales were being held in bank accounts controlled by the US government, under a presidential order issued last Friday.
The main account is reportedly in Qatar, chosen as a neutral venue where funds can move with US approval and avoid the risk of seizure.
This development came against the backdrop of a major shift in US-Venezuela relations after a recent US operation in early January 2026 that led to the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores.
US forces transported Maduro to US custody, where he now faces federal charges in a New York court, including narco-terrorism and drug trafficking.
Following the operation, US President Donald Trump said the United States would oversee aspects of Venezuela’s transition and control its oil assets.
He indicated that US oil companies would be brought in to help rebuild Venezuela’s struggling energy sector and suggested that Venezuela’s oil resources might be treated as US assets to compensate for past losses and damages.
