US President Donald Trump said Wednesday he was revoking permission for oil giant Chevron to operate in Venezuela, a major blow to the wobbly economy run by leftist adversary Nicolas Maduro.
Trump accused Maduro of failing to live up to promises to take back deported Venezuelans as pledged to a US envoy, whose visit to Caracas had initially been seen as a sign the new US administration would focus on pragmatic engagement rather than upping pressure.
Former president Joe Biden in 2022 eased sanctions and gave Chevron permission to operate in Venezuela in return for a promise by Maduro to allow fair elections.
Biden reimposed most sanctions as it became clear that Maduro was sidelining the opposition but maintained the concession to Chevon, in part out of concern of causing a spike in oil prices in the United States before elections.
“We are hereby reversing the concessions that Crooked Joe Biden gave to Nicolas Maduro,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.
Trump, who rarely faults authoritarian leaders over democracy, said that the election conditions had not been met by Maduro, who was sworn in to a third term last month despite wide accusations of vote rigging.
“Additionally, the regime has not been transporting the violent criminals that they sent into our Country (the Good Ole’ U.S.A.) back to Venezuela at the rapid pace that they had agreed to,” Trump wrote.
Chevron, which had previously stopped production of oil in Venezuela in 2018 due to earlier Trump sanctions, has helped revive the country’s oil sector which has declined precipitously since the 1990s.
The US company pumps around 240,000 barrels a day from Venezuela, or nearly one quarter of the country’s total output.
Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodriguez called the Trump administration’s decision “damaging and inexplicable” and warned of the effect on migration — the key priority for Trump.
“In its attempt to harm the Venezuelan people, it is in fact hurting the United States, its population and its companies, and also calling into question the legal security of the US’s international investment regime,” she wrote on Telegram.
“Venezuela emphasizes that these kinds of failed decisions prompted the migration from 2017 to 2021 with the widely known consequences.”
Chevron spokesman Bill Turenne said that the company was aware of the decision and “considering its implications.”
“Chevron conducts its business in Venezuela in compliance with all laws and regulations, including the sanctions framework provided by US government,” he said.
