(VOVWORLD) - US President Donald Trump on Friday signed an executive order declaring a national emergency to "safeguard Venezuelan oil revenue held in US Treasury accounts from attachment or judicial process," ensuring the funds are preserved "to advance US foreign policy objectives," according to a release by the White House.
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 US 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.
Also on Saturday, the US State Department called on US citizens to leave Venezuela immediately, as international flights have resumed. The US Bureau of Consular Affairs said that Venezuela has the highest Travel Advisory level -- Level 4: Do Not Travel.
In a related development, Venezuela’s Acting President Delcy Rodriguez on Saturday pledged to bring President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, back home. She told a community event in Miranda state that: “The Venezuelan people are in charge, and there is a government, that of President Nicolas Maduro.” She called on Venezuelans to unite to ensure peace, stability, and the country’s future.