Senators Alsobrooks and Warren Investigate Venezuela Bond Trading After Trump’s Illegal Military Action Sparks Big Investor Gains

"We seek to better understand the extent to which insiders may have obtained any information regarding the Administration's plans in Venezuela, and whether they used this information to inform their trading activity."

March 26, 2026

Text of Letter (PDF)

WASHINGTON DC - As reported this morning in Semafor, U.S. Senators Angela Alsobrooks (D-Md.), a Member of the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee, and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Ranking Member of the Committee, sent a letter to Paul Atkins, Chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), and Robert Cook, President and CEO of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), requesting information about the trading activity involving Venezuela sovereign bonds and bonds linked to Venezuela's state-run oil company Petróleos de Venezuela, S.A. (PdVSA). Prior to the U.S. unauthorized military action in Venezuela, the President made clear that he discussed military plans with public and private sector actors. In light of unusually high trading activity in Venezuelan sovereign bonds, this raises questions about whether individuals with inside information could be using confidential national security information for personal financial gain.

"Reporting indicates increased trading volume and significant price movements in Venezuelan sovereign bonds before and after the U.S. unauthorized military action on January 3, 2026," wrote the Senators. "In the two weeks before the U.S. raid, '(t)he country's bonds . . . rallied …to 33 cents on the dollar, a 40 per cent rise since the start of October,' and one sovereign bond shot up nearly 38 percent in the days after the unauthorized military operation. Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) data similarly indicates significant trading activity in PdVSA-linked bonds in the aftermath of the raid."

"Estimates of trading activity suggest $1.5 billion or 'about ten times (the) normal trading volume,' in the days after the U.S. military operation. Because some Venezuelan sovereign bonds may be traded in foreign currency and through emerging market desks based in London or elsewhere in Europe, it may be difficult to determine trading volumes, significant orders, or the specific broker-dealers who may be facilitating the trades," wrote the Senators.

The Senators continued: "FINRA refers hundreds of insider trading referrals to law enforcement authorities each year. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) oversees FINRA, and holds FINRA responsible for fulfilling its regulatory responsibility. In addition, FINRA collects information on trading of sovereign debt through the Trade Reporting and Compliance Engine (TRACE)."

The Senators underscored the importance of regulators having access to detailed data that helps assess the risks associated with impermissible trading practices connected to Venezuela: "Public data provides only a limited snapshot. . . . Because some Venezuelan sovereign bonds may be traded in foreign currency and through emerging market desks based in London or elsewhere in Europe, it may be difficult to determine trading volumes, significant orders, or the specific broker-dealers who may be facilitating the trades. But when these trades are facilitated by FINRA member firms or brokers, additional public transparency is required due to potential risks of trading based on material non-public information."

The Senators requested written responses to assist Congress in understanding the risks associated with impermissible trading practices connected to Venezuela, no later than April 7, 2026.

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