Karla Kemp

Is Washington protecting Venezuela's money, or taking it over one asset at a time? In 2019, Trump's team got Britain to freeze Venezuela's gold. Now Venezuela is close to a deal to move those 31 TONS, worth about $4B, from the Bank of England to the New York Fed. Venezuela won't be allowed to sell it. It can only borrow against it, which means paying interest to use its own gold. The deal leaked the same day the White House announced Trump would meet Venezuela's acting president, Delcy Rodríguez, and they're meeting in New York this week. It's the same gold Venezuela asked for after June's earthquakes killed more than 6,000 people, when a State Department official told the Senate Venezuela "should have plenty of cash flow." Based on my investigation, we learned what Washington is actually doing with the Venezuelan money it controls. More than $11 billion in oil money has gone into a U.S. account as an asset that no American court is allowed to touch, Venezuela has to ask our permission to spend it, and its own records show $300 million coming back. The oil went to traders with federal bribery records. The Pentagon went into business with a Maduro-era oilman whose money laundering case was closed as the deal was happening. A Trump donor's company just signed on to develop a block holding an estimated 30 billion barrels, and a Venezuelan banker got a pardon after $3.5 million went to the president's super PAC. I would have never gone down this rabbit hole had I not watched Scott Bessent testify and notice his answer to the Venezuelan funds was off. Full investigative article up on Substack now with every document linked to how I came to this conclusion. Link is in bio and the article is free. Enjoy!

Last week I said it looked like we could be stealing about $11 billion from Venezuela. The question I had after learning that was, if it isn't going back to Venezuela, where is it going? So I followed the money. Treasury's own data shows about $11 billion more than normal flowing into the State Department's account since February. Venezuela's records show $300 million coming back. Venezuela has to ask Washington's permission to spend its own oil money. A State Department official told Congress, "It's their money, but ... they have to get our permission." An emergency order blocks every American court from touching it, so the creditors Venezuela owes, most of them American, get nothing. So who does get paid? The Pentagon took a 35 percent stake in an oil company owned by Alejandro Betancourt, who got rich on Maduro-era contracts. The Miami money laundering investigation into him was closed while that deal came together, though the Justice Department denies ordering it closed. A Venezuelan-born banker facing 20 years got a pardon after $3.5 million went to the president's super PAC in his daughter's name. And in 2012, Betancourt was in Jeffrey Epstein's inbox, copied on a Venezuelan oil pitch. Last week I asked if we were stealing from Venezuela. After following the money further, I think the better question is who "we" is, because it isn't you and me. It's a small circle of people close to this White House who are getting paid out of another country's oil money, while the Treasury Secretary tells Congress he can't give out a number I found in 15 minutes. The full article is up on Substack , with every document linked (link is in my bio). Enjoy!