Trump declares national emergency to shield Venezuelan oil funds
text_fields
Washington: US President Donald Trump has declared a national emergency to prevent courts and creditors from seizing Venezuelan government funds held by the United States, citing risks to American national security and foreign policy interests.
The move is aimed at protecting oil-related revenues that Washington considers critical to its objectives in the Western Hemisphere. In an executive order signed on Friday and released on Saturday, Trump said the “threat of attachment or the imposition of other judicial process” against Venezuelan government deposit funds could “materially harm the national security and foreign policy of the United States”.
He warned that such legal actions would undermine US efforts to promote economic and political stability in Venezuela and could jeopardise major American goals, including curbing illegal immigration and illicit narcotics flows, countering “malign actors such as Iran and Hezbollah”, and advancing peace and stability for Venezuela and the wider Western Hemisphere.
The executive order prohibits any attachment, judgment, lien, garnishment or other judicial action against what it defines as “Foreign Government Deposit Funds”, unless expressly licensed or authorised by the administration. Any such legal action, the order states, is prohibited and “shall be deemed null and void”.
The protected funds include money paid to or held by the US government in designated Treasury accounts on behalf of the Venezuelan government or its agencies, including the Central Bank of Venezuela and the state-owned oil company Petróleos de Venezuela, S.A. The order specifies that the funds are derived from the sale of natural resources or diluents sold to the Venezuelan government.
Trump said subjecting these funds to judicial seizure would constitute an “unusual and extraordinary threat” to US national security and foreign policy, formally invoking emergency powers to address the risk.
The order clarifies that the funds remain sovereign property of Venezuela and are not assets of private parties or judgment creditors. It further states that the US government holds the funds solely in a custodial and governmental capacity, not as a market participant.
The funds are barred from being transferred, exported, withdrawn or otherwise used, except as permitted under future regulations or licences issued by the administration. The order also notes that the funds have not been, and will not be, used for any commercial activity within the United States.
According to the directive, the funds will be held pending “sovereign disposition for public, governmental, or diplomatic purposes”, to be determined by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on behalf of the Venezuelan government.
Trump directed the Treasury Department to designate the funds in a manner that clearly reflects their status as Venezuelan sovereign property held in US custody. The Treasury has also been instructed to follow disbursement or transfer instructions determined by the Secretary of State, in consultation with Attorney General Pam Bondi and Energy Secretary Chris Wright.
The order authorises the Treasury and Justice departments to assert sovereign immunity on behalf of the funds in any judicial or administrative proceedings, in accordance with US law. It further states that holding the funds in US Treasury accounts does not constitute a waiver of Venezuela’s sovereign immunity or consent to US court jurisdiction for enforcing private claims.
Trump said any court action against the funds would interfere with US foreign relations and undermine principles of international comity.
With IANS inputs