The US State Department has released a 53-page report purporting to account for more than $12bn in revenue from Venezuelan oil and mineral sales, nearly a year after a US military raid captured President Nicolas Maduro and his wife—a move Caracas has described as an abduction—and brought them to New York to face drug-trafficking and torture charges. The report, released on Thursday, claims the money was handled through US-controlled accounts as part of an effort to 'promote transparency and accountability', though it is heavily redacted and leaves key recipients unidentified.
Key Takeaways: The report covers January 3, 2026 to September 30, 2026 and claims $12.26bn was received from verified entities, with more than $12bn disbursed and about $169m remaining. It says roughly 99% of deposits came from oil purchases, while $9.4bn went to legal entities and $2.9bn to individuals; KPMG has been contracted to review transactions. The disclosure follows the US operation that removed Maduro, an arrangement with Delcy Rodriguez, and an executive order creating special accounts for Venezuelan resource revenue.
The report is the latest step in a broader and contested US regime effort to reshape Venezuela’s political economy after the January raid on Caracas. After Maduro’s capture, then-vice president Delcy Rodriguez took over and reached agreements with Washington that gave the US a direct stake in profits from oil, gold, minerals and fertilisers. The US regime says the special Treasury-controlled accounts are meant to ensure funds are distributed 'in a controlled manner', but the model has raised questions about sovereignty, accountability and whether Washington is prioritising resource flows over democratic reform. Venezuelan rights activists have expressed concern that oil revenue may receive outsized importance while democratic reforms receive little backing.
According to the report, the US initially used an account at Qatar National Bank in January, with about $500m deposited and almost all distributed back to Venezuelan entities by late January, when a separate Treasury-controlled account was opened. That current account has taken in more than $12bn from about 20 depositors whose identities are redacted. By end-September, nearly all funds had been distributed to Venezuelan banks for foreign-exchange interventions intended to support the bolivar. The report does not identify final recipients, noting only that about $9.4bn went to legal entities and $2.9bn to individuals.
The disclosure is also politically sensitive for the Trump regime, which has made Venezuela central to its narrative and has touted revenue from Venezuelan oil sales during campaigning before this month’s midterm elections. The State Department claims KPMG, a Washington, DC-based auditing firm, is examining the transactions, but the redactions and the lack of recipient details mean independent verification remains limited. The report offers no clear timetable for future disbursements, democratic reforms or oversight, leaving open how the remaining $169m and future resource revenue will be handled—and whether Congress or outside auditors will demand fuller accounting.
Source: www.aljazeera.com