Trump signs order declaring Nat´l emergency to ´safeguard Venezuelan oil revenue´

U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday signed an executive order declaring a national emergency to "safeguard Venezuelan oil revenue held in U.S. Treasury accounts from attachment or judicial process," ensuring the funds are preserved "to advance U.S. foreign policy objectives," according to a release by the White House, reported Xinhua.

The executive order blocks any attachment, judgment, decree, lien, execution, garnishment, or other judicial process against Foreign Government Deposit Funds, which are defined as the Venezuelan oil revenues and diluent sales held in U.S. Treasury accounts, according to the White House fact sheet.

The order also prohibits transfers or dealings in these funds except as authorized, superseding any prior executive orders that might block or regulate them.

"The possibility of attachment or the imposition of judicial process against the Foreign Government Deposit Funds constitutes an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United States, which has its source in whole or substantial part outside the United States," said the order.

The Foreign Government Deposit Funds are sovereign property of Venezuela held in U.S. custody for governmental and diplomatic purposes, not subject to private claims, according to the White House.

"The United States Government will hold the Foreign Government Deposit Funds solely in a custodial and governmental capacity, and not as a market participant," said the order.

The funds have not been, and shall not be, used for any commercial activity in the United States, added the order.

U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright said Wednesday that the United States will not only market stored oil in Venezuela but also control the sales of oil output from the country indefinitely.

Meanwhile, Venezuela's acting president Delcy Rodriguez on Saturday pledged to realize the return of President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, who were seized by the United States on Jan. 3.

Speaking at a community event in Miranda state, Rodriguez said there was no uncertainty about Venezuela's leadership or governing program.

"There is no uncertainty here. The Venezuelan people are in charge, and there is a government, that of President Nicolas Maduro," she said, calling for unity to guarantee peace, stability and the country's future.

Rodriguez vowed not to rest "for a single minute" until Maduro and Flores return to Venezuela.

She noted that a year ago, she was sworn in alongside Maduro at the start of his third term, adding that "today, one year later, we are swearing for his freedom."

Rodriguez said national unity would be decisive in what she described as the effort to "rescue" Maduro, reaffirming that her government continues to implement the seven lines of action set by Maduro.

U.S. forces carried out military strikes in Caracas and three other Venezuelan cities on Jan. 3, an operation that led to the seizure of Maduro and Flores. The strikes have drawn worldwide condemnation and concern.

Meanwhile, a senior Venezuelan diplomat to Germany on Saturday condemned the United States for its "most serious act of aggression" against a South American nation and called for the immediate, unconditional release of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, who were captured during a U.S. assault and then transferred to the United States on Jan. 3.

Martin Saatdjian, minister counsellor at the Embassy of Venezuela in Germany, made the remarks at the 31st International Rosa Luxemburg Conference, which was held in Berlin on Saturday.

Speaking on behalf of the Venezuelan Ambassador Ramon Orlando Maniglia Ferreira, Saatdjian said "it is imperative to express with the utmost firmness our absolute rejection of any action that violates the sovereignty and territorial integrity of nations."

He added that despite the current crisis, the Venezuelan state remains stable.

"In Venezuela, all state institutions and the political power structure remain firm and operational," he said.

Saatdjian noted that the situation in Venezuela is not merely an internal matter for the country.

It has become an emblematic case for the defense of international law against foreign intervention and the use of force, he said.

The conference was held by the German newspaper junge Welt (young world) and takes place every year in January.

Participants from countries including Germany, Spain, the United States and Italy, expressed their opposition to war and called for efforts to promote equality and peace.