US Treasury sanctions Bluwaves Properties Limited, freezes assets of Florida billionaire’s offshore firm

The US Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control froze the assets of Bluewave Properties Ltd, an offshore company owned by Florida billionaire Harry Sargeant III, citing violations of a 2018 executive order tied to Venezuelan sanctions. On the same day the freeze took effect, Sargeant signed a $300 million deal to sell the company.

The deal and the freeze

OFAC’s action on August 8, 2026, came with an unusual wrinkle. Alongside the asset freeze, Treasury issued a specific license permitting Sargeant to divest his interests in Bluewave. He didn’t wait around to think it over.

The $300 million sale agreement was signed that same day. The buyer: an entity affiliated with Venezuelan businessman Alejandro Betancourt, who serves as the controlling shareholder of North American Blue Energy Partners, or NABEP.

NABEP is Venezuela’s second-largest private oil producer, churning out roughly 160,000 barrels per day. Bluewave held a minority stake in the company, which appears to be the core of Treasury’s concern.

In a detail that underscores the murky legal terrain here, Bluewave had not yet appeared on OFAC’s Specially Designated Nationals list as of mid-August. The company was nonetheless operating under the assumption it had been sanctioned.

From back-channel diplomat to sanctions target

Sargeant had acted as an informal intermediary between Washington and Caracas on sensitive matters. That included assisting with hostage negotiations in 2025.

In January 2026, former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro was captured, a seismic event that reshaped US foreign policy toward the country. Washington moved to back new leadership in Venezuela, and the diplomatic landscape shifted dramatically.

The speed of the divestment suggests Sargeant may have seen this coming, or at least had a contingency plan ready. Signing a $300 million sale agreement on the same day as an asset freeze doesn’t happen without some advance preparation, even with the specific license in hand.

What this means for Venezuelan oil investment

For NABEP specifically, the implications are complex. The company is producing 160,000 barrels per day despite the sanctions environment, making it a significant player in Venezuela’s oil output. Betancourt’s affiliated entity acquiring Bluewave’s stake consolidates his control, but it also concentrates more ownership in the hands of a Venezuelan national at a time when Washington is scrutinizing exactly those connections.

The $300 million price tag on Bluewave also provides a rare data point on how these assets are being valued in a sanctions-constrained market.

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