Following the removal of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro on January 3, 2026, the Trump administration has taken actions to expand Venezuela-related oil trade and investment opportunities, primarily for U.S. companies.
On January 3, 2026, the United States military conducted an operation in Caracas resulting in the extraction of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores. They currently remain in the U.S. facing federal charges based on indictments unsealed in 2020. Two days later, Delcy Rodríguez assumed the role of acting President and has been cooperating with President Trump and his administration with respect to the release of several political prisoners and U.S. citizens.
On March 12, 2020, the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) issued sanctions against a second affiliate of PJSC Rosneft Oil Company (Rosneft) related to its activities with Venezuela. OFAC added TNK Trading International S.A. of Switzerland (TNK) to the Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List (SDN List), and the Sectoral Sanctions Identifications List (SSI List) under Directives 2 and 4, pursuant to Executive Orders 13850 and 13662. Previously, on February 18, 2020, OFAC placed Rosneft Trading S.A. (Rosneft Trading), a Swiss subsidiary of Rosneft, on the SDN List for purchasing, transferring, brokering, and otherwise facilitating the shipment of crude oil from PdVSA. OFAC has authorized a wind down period for both companies through 12:01 a.m. U.S. Eastern Time on May 20, 2020.
Today, President Trump issued an Executive Order (E.O.) providing for sanctions against the Government of Venezuela. The sanctions are structured similar to existing sectoral sanctions on the Russian petroleum sector and target financial transactions with the Government of Venezuela.
Global Trade & Sanctions Law