in effect
Executive Order 14373, signed January 9, 2026, declares a national emergency and directs the U.S. government to protect a specific pool of Venezuelan oil-related funds held in U.S. Treasury accounts from being seized or frozen by courts. It invokes emergency economic powers (IEEPA) to block any judicial process — lawsuits, liens, garnishments — against those funds.
The order defines “Foreign Government Deposit Funds” as money held in designated Treasury accounts on behalf of Venezuela, its Central Bank, or its state oil company (PDVSA), derived from oil or diluent sales. Any existing or future court judgment, lien, attachment, or garnishment against those funds is declared null and void unless the Treasury Department specifically authorizes an exception. No money may be moved out of those accounts except on instructions from the Secretary of State. The order overrides any prior executive order that previously blocked or regulated the same funds. The Secretary of the Treasury must label these accounts as Venezuelan sovereign property — not U.S. government property — and the U.S. asserts sovereign immunity on Venezuela’s behalf in any court proceeding that targets the funds.
Private parties — including companies and individuals who have won court judgments against Venezuela or PDVSA — cannot use those judgments to collect from these Treasury-held funds. Venezuela’s government and its state oil entities retain nominal ownership of the funds, but the U.S. Secretary of State controls how and when any money is disbursed. U.S. federal agencies, particularly Treasury, State, the Justice Department, and Energy, take on new compliance and reporting obligations under the order.