Venezuela Reportedly Canceled Sale Of Assets Seized From U.S. Company After Trump Admin Intervened

Venezuela canceled the auction of assets seized from U.S. company Halliburton after the Trump administration intervened, according to a new report.

Bloomberg detailed that government officials pressed the country's interim leader, Delcy Rodriguez, to cancel the action after a company executive met with Trump in January and raised the matter.

The development could prompt the company to return to operating in Venezuela. The outlet recalled that Halliburton shut down its main operations in the South American country in 2020 following harsher U.S. sanctions against the Maduro regime.

Local workers filed a suit against the company in 2021, looking for unpaid benefits. In December 2025, a Venezuelan court ordered the sale of company assets valued at over $6.5 million. Halliburton, in turn, filed a lawsuit against the Venezuelan government at the World Bank's international arbitration court.

The move is part of a broader policy aimed at securing the return of companies to Venezuela, particularly to its oil industry.

Venezuela was the U.S.'s fifth largest provider of oil in the first week of February after Washington took over the country's industry following the capture of authoritarian President Nicolas Maduro in early January.

The country sent over 150,000 barrels a day in that period. The figure, however, was 13% lower than that of the last week of January.

The Trump administration has been overseeing the country's oil industry, and U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright said the country has "enormous leverage over the interim authorities in Venezuela" as a result.

Speaking to NBC News' Kristen Welker in Caracas this month, Wright said that while "the Venezuelans are in charge," the Trump administration "has enormous leverage over the interim authorities as the largest revenue source that funds the government, that funds the government of Venezuela is now controlled by the United States."

"If they're driving positive change that benefits Americans and is improving the life opportunities of people in Venezuela, that money will flow. If they steer off that path, we have just simply tremendous leverage," he added.

Three days after Maduro's capture and with Delcy Rodríguez serving as Venezuela's interim president, Trump said the Venezuelan government had agreed to deliver between 30 million and 50 million barrels of oil to the United States. He added that the crude would be sold at market prices and that proceeds would be used to benefit the Venezuelan people.