Venezuela announces first oil revenues from US

The Venezuelan government has confirmed that revenue from oil sales has begun to flow in. The announcement was made Tuesday by interim president Delcy Rodríguez during a social outreach event in the La Vega neighborhood of Caracas. Rodríguez reported that $300 million of the initial $500 million expected from these sales has already been received. She explained that these funds will be used to cover and finance the income of the country’s workers.

The new president indicated that the objective of using these resources is to protect the purchasing power of Venezuelans against inflation and to mitigate the effects of exchange rate fluctuations. She also noted that the initial funds will be channeled through the national exchange market, via public banks and the Central Bank of Venezuela, with the aim of stabilizing the market and, consequently, safeguarding the income of the working class.

Oil remains Venezuela’s most important economic resource and a central element in the current diplomatic dynamic with the United States, following the capture of Nicolás Maduro by U.S. Special forces troops on January 3. The country possesses the world’s largest known reserves, but its production and exports have been severely hampered by mismanagement, deteriorating infrastructure, and years of sanctions, which have reduced its operational capacity. Although Venezuela maintains markets such as China for its crude, the new interim administration led by Rodríguez has been forced by Donald Trump to reorient energy negotiations toward Washington.

One of the first measures after the U.S. Attack on Caracas and the capture of Maduro was to formalize with the White House the sale of oil worth about $500 million — a pact that, according to Chavismo, had already been negotiated before the attack — and which seeks to inject liquidity into the country while Trump intends to consolidate his influence over the Venezuelan energy sector.

Meanwhile, the president of the National Assembly, Jorge Rodríguez, linked the announcement regarding oil revenues to a legislative initiative aimed at making this information publicly available. Rodríguez reported that work is progressing rapidly on a project, spearheaded by the interim president, to create websites that will publish detailed information about the revenue generated from the sale of oil and other mineral resources.

At a meeting of the Parliamentary Advisory Commission at the Federal Legislative Palace, Rodríguez stated that the objective of these digital platforms is to reveal how much money has entered the country and how it has been spent. “So that everyone knows everything that has come in from oil sales or new oil exploration initiatives, mining, or other forms of the new economy. Everything that comes in and how every single cent has been spent,” he affirmed.

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