Venezuela claims a U.S. military buildup is targeting its oil reserves, and a Delaware judge ordered the sale to settle debts.
Published December 3, 2025
Venezuelan Vice President and Oil Minister Delcy Rodríguez has condemned a US court’s decision to allow the “fraudulent” and “forced” sale of Venezuelan oil company Citgo in the US to pay off billions of dollars in debt.
“We actively reject the decision adopted in the judicial process,” Rodriguez said in a statement read on state television about the sale, which Venezuela’s government has always opposed.
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Delaware Judge Leonard Stark last week ordered the sale of Citgo’s parent company to Amber Energy, an affiliate of hedge fund Elliott Investment Management, for $5.9 billion. Elliott Investment Management said in a press release that the court order is “supported by a group of U.S. strategic energy investors.”
Citgo, the Houston-based subsidiary of Venezuela’s state oil company PDVSA (Petroleos de Venezuela SA), is facing claims from creditors that it owes more than $20 billion. This reflects the South American’s broader financial woes under US sanctions targeting its once-profitable oil industry.
The company’s creditors include Canadian company Crystalex, which another U.S. court announced in 2019 owes $1.2 billion to the Venezuelan government over Caracas’ 2008 seizure and nationalization of the Las Cristinas mine, rich in gold, diamonds, iron and other minerals.
The sale of Citgo comes after Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro claimed that the United States’ recent military buildup in the Caribbean Sea surrounding the country was aimed at seizing Venezuela’s vast oil reserves.
Venezuela has the world’s largest proven oil reserves, estimated at 303 billion barrels in 2023, but exported only $4.05 billion worth of crude oil in 2023, far below other major oil producing countries, due in part to U.S. sanctions imposed during President Donald Trump’s first term.
Last week, President Maduro called on members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) to help his country counter “growing illicit threats” from the United States and the president.
But Paolo von Schirach, director of the World Policy Institute, said he doubted whether Venezuela’s plea would elicit much support “within OPEC.”
The Trump administration maintains that its military operations in the region are focused on tackling drug trafficking.
Venezuela has historically been one of the biggest oil exporters to the United States, but sales have fallen sharply since Hugo Chávez was elected president in 1998.
Then, faced with harsh sanctions under the first Trump administration, Venezuela shifted its exports to countries such as China, India and Cuba.
After trade tensions eased slightly under former US President Joe Biden’s administration, US multinational Chevron was granted a limited oil production license before sanctions were tightened again under the second Trump administration in March.
PDVSA, the state-owned oil company that has led the way in developing Venezuela’s vast oil reserves, also faces other challenges, including aging infrastructure, lack of investment, mismanagement and the impact of international sanctions.
