On January 3, 2026, the United States captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife to face charges related to narco-terrorism, drug trafficking and weapons offenses. [i] U.S. officials have acknowledged that a central objective of the operation was access to Venezuela’s oil. The United States and Venezuela are both member states of the United Nations (UN) and the Organization of American States (OAS), whose charters and resolutions emphasize state sovereignty. [xii]On January 7, 2026, Petróleos de Venezuela, S.A. (PDVSA), Venezuela’s state-owned oil company, announced negotiations with the United States for the sale of oil. [xiv]One possibility in which Venezuela’s oil might be lawfully seized would be for payment of arbitral awards owed to U.S.-based oil companies.

Source: Forbes February 08, 2026 00:14 UTC