“…US gets first $500 million Venezuelan oil deal, holding some proceeds in Qatar”
January 20, 2026
“…The sale marks an initial milestone in the administration’s management of Venezuela after the US ouster of its former leader, Nicolás Maduro, 11 days ago. President Donald Trump has indicated that the US would effectively run Venezuela for an indeterminable amount of time and take control of up to 50 million barrels of its oil — marketing and selling it while distributing the proceeds back to Venezuela in an arrangement with little precedent…”