A new bombshell report claims that Donald Trump is allegedly planning to divide the money generated from the Venezuelan oil revenue into multiple bank accounts located in Qatar.
According to Semafor, senior officials have alleged that the United States has already completed its first sale of Venezuelan oil, securing a deal worth $500 million.
The administration has also allegedly justified its position by saying that since the Gulf state is a neutral location, funds should be kept there rather than in U.S. banks to ensure free and safe movement without the risk of seizure.
However, the move is facing backlash from Trump critics and opponents. Per The Independent, Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren said, “There is no basis in law for a president to set up an offshore account that he controls so that he can sell assets seized by the American military.”
The ranking Democrat on the Senate Finance Committee added, “That is precisely a move that a corrupt politician would be attracted to.”
The Venezuela story everyone missed.
The U.S. just sold $500 million of Venezuelan oil.
But they deposited the money in Qatar.
Not the U.S. Not Venezuela. Qatar.
Here is why that satisfies detail changes everything you think you know about what just happened.
Venezuela owes… pic.twitter.com/pLBN0eq39y
— Shanaka Anslem Perera ⚡ (@shanaka86) January 15, 2026
It’s no surprise Donald Trump has chosen Qatar, given his very friendly relationship with the Gulf state. The friendship came under the spotlight last year after the POTUS accepted a $400 million Boeing jet from the country. The gift was heavily criticized, and so was the President for accepting it.
Meanwhile, the United States came into the possession of Venezuela’s oil after the military raid in Caracas in the early hours of January 3. The Trump administration and its forces captured the country’s President, Nicolas Maduro, and his wife, Cilia Flores.
Then he moved them to New York to further investigate federal drug trafficking charges against Maduro. He pleaded not guilty in Manhattan court.
In the aftermath of the operation, Vice President Delcy Rodriguez was appointed as the acting president. Washington also announced that it would “run” Venezuela until the nation was in a stable situation. Trump further threatened Rodriguez that if she didn’t cooperate, she might face the same fate as Maduro.
Meanwhile, Maduro insisted that he was still Venezuela’s rightful leader amid the ongoing investigation. Washington taking control means the U.S. also comes into possession of 50 million barrels of the country’s oil.
Trump is selling seized Venezuelan oil and putting the cash in a bank account in Qatar. Nothing to see here. https://t.co/hY4JH8udTM pic.twitter.com/1qigkS2Wfn
— Ron Filipkowski (@RonFilipkowski) January 14, 2026
To take control of the revenue himself, Donald Trump signed an executive order last Friday, blocking courts or creditors from asking for shares of the revenue.
The POTUS felt it was extremely necessary given Venezuela has about $170 billion in debt, as it owes international bondholders, oil companies, and other stakeholders.
During an oil executive meeting at the White House, the Republican leader made it clear that he is “not going to look at what people lost in the past, because that was their fault.”
