Executive Order No. 14373. Safeguarding Venezuelan Oil Revenue for the Good of the American and Venezuelan People

• Executive Order No.: 14373
• Published date: 15 January 2026
• Citation: 91 FR 2045
• Date: 09 January 2026
• FR Document: 2026-00831
• Section: Presidential Documents
• Issuer: Executive Office Of The President

Presidential Documents

2045

Federal Register

Vol. 91, No. 10

Thursday, January 15, 2026

Title 3—

The President

Executive Order 14373 of January 9, 2026

Safeguarding Venezuelan Oil Revenue for the Good of the

American and Venezuelan People

By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the

laws of the United States of America, including the International Emergency

Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.) (IEEPA), the National Emer-

gencies Act (50 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.) (NEA), and section 301 of title 3,

United States Code, it is hereby ordered:

Section 1. Findings. As Chief Executive and Commander in Chief, I find

that the threat of attachment or the imposition of other judicial process

against the Foreign Government Deposit Funds, as defined in section 2

of this order, will materially harm the national security and foreign policy

of the United States.

Specifically, the attachment or the imposition of other judicial process against

the Foreign Government Deposit Funds will substantially interfere with our

critical efforts to ensure economic and political stability in Venezuela. The

failure of these critical efforts would jeopardize major foreign policy objec-

tives of the United States, including: ending the dangerous influx of illegal

immigrants and the flood of illicit narcotics, which has resulted in the

death of countless thousands of American citizens; protecting American

interests against malign actors such as Iran and Hezbollah; and bringing

peace, prosperity, and stability to the Venezuelan people and to the Western

Hemisphere more generally.

Accordingly, the preservation of the Foreign Government Deposit Funds

is of the utmost importance to the United States. I therefore find that

the possibility of attachment or the imposition of judicial process against

the Foreign Government Deposit Funds constitutes an unusual and extraor-

dinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United

States, which has its source in whole or substantial part outside the United

States, and I hereby declare a national emergency to deal with that threat.

Sec. 2. Definition. For the purposes of this order, ‘‘Foreign Government

Deposit Funds’’ means funds paid to or held by the United States Government

in designated United States Department of the Treasury accounts or funds

on behalf of the Government of Venezuela or its agencies or instrumentalities,

including the Central Bank of Venezuela and Petroleos de Venezuela, S.A.,

that are derived from either the sale of natural resources from, or the sale

of diluents to, the Government of Venezuela or its agencies or instrumental-

ities.

Sec. 3. Preservation of Foreign Government Deposit Funds. (a) Unless licensed

or otherwise authorized pursuant to this order, any attachment, judgment,

decree, lien, execution, garnishment, or other judicial process is prohibited,

and shall be deemed null and void, with respect to the Foreign Government

Deposit Funds.

(b) No Foreign Government Deposit Funds may be transferred, paid, ex-

ported, withdrawn, or otherwise dealt in, except to the extent provided

by regulations, orders, directives, or licenses that may be issued pursuant

to this order, and notwithstanding any contract entered into or any license

or permit granted prior to the effective date of this order.

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(c) This order and actions taken pursuant to this order shall apply notwith-

standing any previously issued Executive Order, and any action taken pursu-

ant to such an order, to the extent such order or action blocks, regulates,

or otherwise affects the Foreign Government Deposit Funds. This order

and actions taken pursuant to this order shall supersede any previously

issued Executive Order, and any action taken pursuant to such an order,

to the extent such order or action blocks, regulates, or otherwise affects

the Foreign Government Deposit Funds.

Sec. 4. Additional Presidential Findings and Determinations. I hereby deter-

mine and find that:

(a) Ownership. The Foreign Government Deposit Funds constitute property

of the Government of Venezuela and do not constitute the property of

any private party, including judgment creditors of Venezuela or its agencies

or instrumentalities, or commercial actors that transacted or are transacting

business with Venezuela or its agencies or instrumentalities.

(b) Custodial Nature of United States Possession. The United States Govern-

ment will hold the Foreign Government Deposit Funds solely in a custodial

and governmental capacity, and not as a market participant.

(c) Absence of Commercial Use in the United States. The Foreign Govern-

ment Deposit Funds:

(i) have not been, and shall not be, used for any commercial activity

in the United States; and

(ii) shall be held pending sovereign disposition for public, governmental,

or diplomatic purposes determined by the Secretary of State, on behalf

of the Government of Venezuela.

(d) Governmental Purpose. The retention and administration of the Foreign

Government Deposit Funds serve public sovereign purposes, including com-

pliance with international obligations, the performance of government func-

tions, and the maintenance of diplomatic and foreign policy objectives.

(e) No Waiver of Immunity. Neither the placement of the Foreign Govern-

ment Deposit Funds in a United States Department of the Treasury deposit

account nor any related arrangement or activity constitutes an express or

implied waiver of sovereign immunity from any attachment, judgment, de-

cree, lien, execution, garnishment, or other judicial process, or consent to

the jurisdiction of any court for purposes of enforcing private claims against

such funds.

(f) International Comity and Foreign Relations. Any attachment, judgment,

decree, lien, execution, garnishment, or other judicial process against the

Foreign Government Deposit Funds would interfere with the conduct of

the foreign relations of the United States and undermine principles of inter-

national comity.

Sec. 5. Treatment of Foreign Government Deposit Funds. (a) In holding

the Foreign Government Deposit Funds, the Secretary of the Treasury shall:

(i) designate such funds in a manner that clearly reflects their status

as sovereign property of the Government of Venezuela held in custody

by the United States, and not as the property of the United States;

(ii) comply with instructions regarding disbursements or transfers of the

Foreign Government Deposit Funds as may be determined by the Secretary

of State, and not permit such funds to be used for any other purpose;

and

(iii) consult, as appropriate, with the Secretary of State, the Attorney

General, and the Secretary of Energy.

(b) The Secretary of the Treasury and the Attorney General are authorized

and directed to assert, in any judicial or administrative proceeding, the

sovereign immunity of the Foreign Government Deposit Funds consistent

with this order and applicable law.

Sec. 6. Administration. (a) The Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation

with the Secretary of State, the Attorney General, and the Secretary of

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Energy, is authorized to take such actions, including the promulgation of

rules and regulations, and to employ all powers granted to the President

by IEEPA as may be necessary to carry out the purposes of this order.

The Secretary of the Treasury may, consistent with applicable law, redelegate

any of these functions within the Department of the Treasury. The head

of each executive department and agency (agency) of the United States

Government shall take all appropriate measures within the agency’s authority

to implement this order.

(b) The Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with the Secretary

of State, is hereby authorized to submit recurring and final reports to the

Congress on the national emergency declared in this order, consistent with

section 401(c) of the NEA (50 U.S.C. 1641(c)) and section 204(c) of IEEPA

(50 U.S.C. 1703(c)).

Sec. 7. General Provisions. (a) Nothing in this order shall be construed

to impair or otherwise affect:

(i) the authority granted by law to an executive department or agency,

or the head thereof; or

(ii) the functions of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget

relating to budgetary, administrative, or legislative proposals.

(b) This order shall be implemented consistent with applicable law and

subject to the availability of appropriations.

(c) This order is not intended to, and does not, create any right or benefit,

substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by any party

against the United States, its departments, agencies, or entities, its officers,

employees, or agents, or any other person.

(d) The costs for publication of this order shall be borne by the Department

of the Treasury.

THE WHITE HOUSE,

January 9, 2026.

[FR Doc. 2026–00831

Filed 1–14–26; 11:15 am]

Billing code 4810–25–P

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