How is the Trump Administration is using hundreds of millions of dollars in Venezuelan oil proceeds?
- Mon, Mar 2 2026 at 3:05 PM
Mark,
Earlier this year, President Trump oversaw the capture and arrest of President Nicolas Maduro, inciting regime change in Venezuela and gaining control over the country's oil reserves, which it claims are the largest in the world.
This opened up opportunities for corruption on a global scale, made far worse by a pattern of secrecy from the administration and Trump’s gutting of oversight mechanisms, as CREW explained in the aftermath of the raid.
Now, Congressional Democrats are demanding answers about what the Trump administration is doing with hundreds of millions of dollars in Venezuelan oil proceeds, introducing legislation that would require the White House to submit to an independent accounting of the funds and their use.
Presidents cannot be allowed to oversee massive secretive slush funds and use them to potentially reward allies and punish enemies.
The American people deserve full transparency about how their government is using every dollar seized from Venezuelan oil payments. As the events of this weekend show, the Trump administration is aggressively asserting influence abroad, with little input from Congress and little transparency—as he’s making more and more money from foreign sources and engaging in unprecedented corruption.
This raid has raised red flags from the start. For one thing, it’s the latest in a series of giveaways to the oil and gas industry. For another, it appears to be a breach of international law.
But now, the situation is getting even worse:
In Trump’s 2024 financial disclosure, he reported a new $10 million influx of development fees for an as-yet-unnamed project in Mumbai with Reliance 4IR Realty Development, a subsidiary of Reliance Industries.
Last May, during Trump’s visit to Qatar, Reliance chairman Mukesh Ambani—India’s richest person—attended a state dinner in Trump’s honor.
Now Reliance has secured a deal from the Trump administration to buy Venezuelan oil.
This looks like a giveaway via US government actions to a wealthy insider who recently paid the Trump family millions through their real estate empire.In an administration defined by corruption, this example stands out. It’s a good thing that Congress is demanding accountability and transparency around the Trump administration’s use of Venezuelan oil proceeds. Now that the US is involved in even more international regime change and global conflict, shining a light on conflicts of interest like this is even more urgent.
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