WASHINGTON, Jan 29 - The leading Democrat on a U.S. House investigative committee has formally requested correspondence from two major global trading houses to determine the beneficiaries of recent U.S. actions involving Venezuela’s oil.
Representative Robert Garcia directed letters to Russell Hardy, the chief executive officer of Vitol, and Richard Holtum, the CEO of Trafigura, asking both companies to produce all communications with any member of the Trump administration dating from January of last year through the present. The request seeks documents and correspondence tied to dealings related to Venezuelan oil.
The move follows the capture of Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro by U.S. forces earlier this month. The Trump administration has said it will manage Venezuela’s oil sales "indefinitely." In the weeks since, Vitol and Trafigura secured the first U.S. licenses to load and export Venezuelan crude.
Committee authority and political backdrop
The House oversight committee, led by Democrats in this inquiry, holds broad investigatory powers. The letter and document request come amid a politically charged environment in which Democrats do not control the House and Republicans are engaged in a fight to keep control of the chamber in November’s midterm elections.
In his letter, Representative Garcia asked for clarity on the Trump administration’s intentions regarding the sale and marketing of Venezuelan oil and what the administration intends to do with revenue from those sales. He also asked for details about any agreements the trading firms may have struck with the administration concerning Venezuelan commodities and the roles the companies play in executing the administration’s actions related to Venezuela.
"The Committee seeks answers about the Trump Administration’s intentions regarding its sale and marketing of Venezuelan oil, as well as its intentions regarding the resulting revenue," Garcia wrote. "We further seek to understand the nature of any agreements your companies have made with the Trump Administration regarding Venezuelan commodities, and the role your companies hold in carrying out the Administration’s actions relating to Venezuela."
Vitol and Trafigura did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Related outreach
Separately, on the preceding Wednesday, a group of a dozen House Democrats sent a letter to 21 companies that attended a White House meeting on January 9 about developing Venezuelan oil resources. That letter warned the firms that any transaction or investment in those activities could carry legal and financial risks.
Observers and market participants may note this sequence of actions as the oversight committee pursues documentary evidence to map the interactions among the trading firms and the administration. The record requested covers a timeframe beginning in January of last year and extends to the present, as specified by Representative Garcia.