US returns over $12 billion in oil proceeds to Venezuela since Maduro’s ouster, report says

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration says it has returned more than $12 billion, or almost 99%, of the revenue obtained from the sales of Venezuelan oil since it ousted then-President Nicolás Maduro in January.

In a broad energy deal reached with the country’s interim authorities, according to the report.

As of Sept. 30, the end of the 2026 budget year, $168.6 million remained in an escrow account managed by the U.S. Treasury Department, the report said.

Under the terms of the deal, Venezuelan crude is sold on the open market, with proceeds going into the U.S.-managed account. Venezuelan officials then seek approval for those funds to be returned to the country to pay for infrastructure and humanitarian needs.

The report offers a window into the Venezuelan government’s finances since the U.S. captured Maduro — bringing him to New York to face drug-trafficking charges — and took effective control of the country’s dilapidated oil industry.

The bulk of the more than $12 billion in oil revenue collected by the U.S. through September was disbursed to individuals and businesses in Venezuela through foreign exchange transactions with commercial banks in the country.

However, some $133 million was channeled to directly pay for services or supplies needed by the Venezuelan government, the report showed.

U.S.-approved transactions include $5 million for Miami-based law firm Greenberg Traurig, nearly $24 million for dialysis and coal-mining equipment, and $8.7 million to settle Venezuela’s debts for vaccine procurements with the Pan-American Health Organization, it said.

The report redacts the names of the 20 companies that purchased oil and gold during the first nine months of 2026.

Still, each had to go through vetting by the U.S. government for compliance with sanctions and money-laundering controls — a sharp break from past practice when Venezuela’s government faced little scrutiny in the management of its oil funds.

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Goodman reported from Miami.