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The Trump administration is under increasing pressure to answer questions about the management of Venezuela’s oil revenue.
House Oversight Committee Democrats wrote to the Treasury, Energy and State departments and asked what they’ve done with the $13 billion that Trump said the US has collected from selling Venezuelan oil.
“If this Administration has nothing to hide, it should immediately provide the transparency and answers the American people deserve,” California Rep. Robert Garcia, the top Democrat on the committee, said in a statement to Semafor.
Treasury previously told panel Democrats that the department “custodies these funds for the benefit of the Venezuelan people” and would release them for “approved purposes,” according to a portion of a letter put out by the panel.
Treasury said it’s made disbursements “quickly.” Energy and State did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
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“In safeguarding Venezuelan oil revenue, the U.S. government as custodian has been working with the Rodriguez government since January to quickly disperse funds for official government expenditures,” like payroll, “and to ensure liquidity in the Venezuelan system,” a US official told Semafor.
“Compliance monitoring is in place to ensure funds benefit the Venezuelan people,” the official added, but “funds have been available to the Venezuelan government without delay.”
As members of the House minority, the committee’s inquiries can’t compel more detailed responses from the administration. But they provide a roadmap for committee investigations if Democrats take the majority this fall.
Since January, Venezuela’s oil exports and production have increased by 46% and 27%, respectively, Energy spokesperson Ben Dietderich told Semafor last week. He referred a request for comment on how much revenue had been collected and disbursed to the Treasury Department, which did not provide the figures.