Halt All United States Investments in Venezuela’s Energy Sector Act of 2025

S 261 prohibits U.S. persons (including citizens, entities, and individuals in the U.S.) from engaging in petroleum-related transactions in Venezuela’s energy sector. This includes transactions permitted under the 2023 Barbados Agreement or specific Treasury licenses (General Licenses 41/8M) as of the bill’s enactment date. The ban remains in effect until the Maduro regime formally recognizes Edmundo Gonzalez’s victory in Venezuela’s July 28, 2024, election and transfers power to the democratically elected government or a transitional government agreed upon with the opposition. The bill terminates automatically upon the President’s certification to Congress that this recognition has occurred.