India, Jan. 11 -- US President Donald Trump has signed an executive order protecting US-held funds generated from sale of Venezuelan oil following the ouster of Nicolas Maduro, the White House said.

In the order signed Friday, Trump, who has made clear that tapping Venezuela's vast oil reserves is a key goal of the US effort to remove Maduro, is acting "to advance US foreign policy objectives," according to a White House fact sheet accompanying the order, AFP reported.

The move follows a meeting in Washington on Friday in which Trump urged senior oil executives to invest in Venezuela.

The response was cautious, with ExxonMobil's chief executive calling the country "uninvestable" without sweeping reforms.

ExxonMobil and ConocoPhillips ...