The U.S. State Department reports that a US-held custody account linked to Venezuelan oil revenue paid out about $12.1 billion during the first nine months of 2026. Quartz says the Venezuela Custody Account received $12.26 billion from 20 depositors, leaving $168.56 million in custody as of Sept. 30. Bloomberg similarly describes the payouts as made up almost entirely of crude-oil proceeds.
Several outlets frame the same figure as part of a broader return effort since the January ouster of Nicolás Maduro. The Washington Times, The Independent and Winnipeg Free Press each state that the Trump administration has returned more than $12 billion—around 99%—of revenue from Venezuelan oil sales since Maduro’s ouster. Other coverage emphasizes the existence of a confidential or “secret” report and focuses on how funds are managed and returned, rather than on the headline payout figure.
