Rep. Doggett Demands Answers on Trump's Corrupt Venezuelan Oil Bargain

Contact: Luis Botello Faz

Washington, D.C.- Today, U.S. Representative Lloyd Doggett (D-TX) demanded full transparency from United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio and United States Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent on the Trump Administration's handling of revenues from Venezuelan oil through an offshore account in Qatar. Secretary Rubio's testimony before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee this morning raised more questions than answers.

"President Trump has argued that his personally controlling millions in Venezuelan oil proceeds through an offshore account benefits Americans and Venezuelans, but his actions suggest otherwise," said Rep. Doggett. "He is unlawfully refusing to honor debts owed to U.S. institutions by the Chavista regime and is instead appears to be rewarding his donors."

The letter seeks further explanation regarding the legal authorities the Trump Administration is utilizing to act as a "custodian" of funds for the Venezuelan government, as well as the safeguards in place to ensure Interim Venezuelan President Delcy Rodriguez does not use these funds to pay off Maduro's cronies.

Rep. Doggett's full letter can be found here and below.

Dear Secretary Rubio and Secretary Bessent: I write to request information regarding the Trump Administration's use of an offshore bank account in Qatar to hold revenues derived from the sale of Venezuelan oil. Any arrangement involving the handling of Venezuelan oil revenues by foreign financial institutions located outside the United States raises significant questions about compliance with U.S. law and broader implications for anti-corruption efforts.

President Trump has argued that his personally controlling millions in Venezuelan oil proceeds through an offshore account benefits Americans and Venezuelans, but his actions suggest otherwise. He is unlawfully refusing to honor debts owed to U.S. institutions by the Chavista regime and is instead rewarding his donors. The Financial Times reported that President Trump awarded $250 million in oil proceeds to Vitol, where senior trader John Addison donated $6 million to Trump's 2024 presidential campaign. The Washington Post, meanwhile, found that Trump megadonor and hedge fund billionaire Paul Singer "has for years been in the process of acquiring distressed Venezuelan-owned assets in the U.S. and is on the cusp of owning them…to make a considerable profit turning newly available Venezuelan oil into gasoline." With no transparency or oversight, we cannot ensure future proceeds will not simply be awarded to another one of the Trump family's allies.

The Venezuelan side of the ledger is also vulnerable to corruption from this arrangement. In his first term, President Trump sanctioned Delcy Rodríguez in 2018 for undermining Venezuelan democracy, describing her as key to Maduro's ability to "solidify his authoritarian rule." Since then, the Drug Enforcement Administration has investigated Rodríguez for alleged links to drug trafficking, and, in 2022, labeled her a "priority target," a designation for suspects believed to have a "significant impact" on the drug trade.Transparencia Venezuela reports that Delcy Rodríguez and her brother Jorge Rodríguez, who heads the legislature, have "[gained] control over a large part of the financial, commercial, energy, diplomatic, political, and production sectors, weaving strategic networks…along with allies and cronies… in what some are starting to call 'Rodriguismo.'" There are currently no safeguards to ensure the Rodríguez family does not use the revenue to pay off Maduro's allies, including paramilitary groups and drug cartels, to maintain control of the country.

Given the potential implications for democratic accountability, U.S. sanctions policy, and financial transparency, I request written responses to the following questions by February 11:

1) You have stated that Qatar was chosen because it is "neutral" territory. What criteria were used to determine this "neutrality" and the preference of Qatar over other countries?
2) Why did the Administration not choose a country with much stronger banking laws and a history of robust management of oil revenues? For instance, Norway is considered the world leader in financial oversight of oil revenues. Why was a bank account thus not established under Norwegian jurisdiction?
3) Secretary Rubio testified today that the bank account in Qatar will ultimately become a U.S. Treasury based account in the United States, subject to an audit process agreed upon between the United States and Venezuela. Under what legislation and related authorities has the Administration authorized the establishment of a U.S. bank account on behalf of the Venezuelan government?
a) What institutional mechanisms are being established to ensure full Congressional oversight and the associated required transparency in a timely manner?
b) What will that audit process entail?
4) Secretary Rubio also stated that this arrangement was memorialized in a written agreement with Venezuela. Please provide a copy of the agreement.
5) Press have reported that Venezuela has received $300 million of the first $500 million in an oil sale. Secretary Rubio testified today that the remaining $200 million is in the bank account in Qatar. Will that money be put into a U.S.-based Treasury account, as Secretary Rubio suggested? If not, where is it being directed? Which Venezuelan companies received the foreign currency from the $300 million sale?
6) Being as the Administration has stated this arrangement is a short-term solution, how will the State Department ensure rigorous oversight via inspectors general, especially the State Department IG, for future Venezuelan revenue in the long-term? Given the complexity of oversight in this case, what authorities and appropriations for a Special Inspector General for Venezuela (SIGV) will the State Department be seeking from Congress?
7) The administration has undermined the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and the Foreign Extortion Prevention Act, and yet these laws are vital to minimizing the willingness of Venezuelan officials to ask for bribes from U.S. companies and for those companies to comply. The two companies awarded Venezuelan oil licenses, Vitol and Trafigura, have been implicated by the Justice Department in bribery scandals. What is the State Department doing to re-invigorate these laws regarding Venezuela and corruption more broadly?
8) What is the State Department doing to track existing illicit financial flows related to Venezuelan criminal state capture?
a) Most notably, proceeds from Venezuelan oil-related corruption have been laundered via cryptocurrency. How is the Department helping Venezuelan authorities to track these assets? What is the Department doing to ensure that US-associated cryptocurrency firms are not engaging in further illicit financial flows associated with these Qatar-based oil revenues?
9) How is the United States assisting Venezuela in establishing new oil and other natural resourceassociated laws and institutions that meet international best practices?
10) What is the State Department doing to lift the oppression that has prevented civil society and the press from providing the oversight so critical to developing good governance and starting to unwind the criminal capture of the Venezuelan state?
11) While the National Defense Strategy focuses on so-called "narco-terrorism" in Venezuela, much of the criminal capture of the state is not oil-based. This includes gold smuggling, human trafficking, extortion, and environmental crimes. These crimes can often generate proceeds in excess of those from narcotics. What is the State Department doing to stop these aspects of Venezuela's criminal state capture?

I look forward to your prompt response and to ensuring that U.S. foreign policy decisions affecting Americans, Venezuelans, and sanctioned authoritarian regimes are carried out transparently, lawfully, and in close consultation with Congress.

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