[Federal Register Volume 91, Number 10 (Thursday, January 15, 2026)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 2045-2047]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2026-00831]
[[Page 2043]]
Vol. 91
Thursday,
No. 10
January 15, 2026
Part V
The President
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Executive Order 14373--Safeguarding Venezuelan Oil Revenue for the Good
of the American and Venezuelan People
Presidential Documents
Federal Register / Vol. 91 , No. 10 / Thursday, January 15, 2026 /
Presidential Documents
___________________________________________________________________
Title 3--
The President
[[Page 2045]]
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 Emergencies 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 objectives 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 extraordinary 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
instrumentalities.
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, exported, 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 notwithstanding 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. 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 determine 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 Government 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 Government 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 compliance
with international obligations, the performance of
government functions, and the maintenance of diplomatic
and foreign policy objectives.
(e) No Waiver of Immunity. Neither the placement of
the Foreign Government 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, decree, 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 international
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.
(Presidential Sig.)
THE WHITE HOUSE,
January 9, 2026.
[FR Doc. 2026-00831
Filed 1-14-26; 11:15 am]
Billing code 4810-25-P