US President Donald Trump announced on Wednesday that he will end the oil export licenses granted to Venezuela by his predecessor, Joe Biden, and explained that these concessions, which benefited the oil company Chevron, will no longer be valid as of March 1.
Trump made the announcement in a message on his social network Truth Social, in which he criticized the government of Nicolás Maduro for not having accelerated the deportation of what he called "violent criminals" that, according to him, Caracas sent to the United States and who should have been repatriated "at a rapid pace."
The announcement was made unilaterally, despite the fact that Venezuela is the only country that from the outset made two planes of its flagship airline Conviasa available to Venezuelan migrants to repatriate its citizens. The government of Nicolás Maduro created the Vuelta a la Patria plan in 2018 to repatriate Venezuelans who want to return to the country from various nations.
In his post, the president said he had decided to revoke the concessions granted in November 2022 by the Biden administration, which allowed Chevron to increase its production in Venezuela and export oil from the South American country.
Under the terms of the current license granted by the Biden administration, Chevron was allowed to operate in Venezuela until the end of July, so Trump's decision brings forward the cessation of activity by several months.
A new sanction
Chevron's withdrawal adds to the 930 sanctions that the US has imposed against the people of Venezuela. The resumption of operations by the US company had contributed to the reactivation of oil production in the Caribbean country, which in February of this year, exceeded one million barrels per day (bpd) for the first time since June 2019, according to figures from the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).
Chevron is the only major US oil company operating in Venezuela. In partnership with Petróleos de Venezuela SA (PDVSA), it has reached production of more than 200.000 barrels per day by 2024, according to data from the US Congressional Research Service.
The license Biden granted Chevron in 2022 allowed the oil company to expand its production range in Venezuela. However, the company decided not to commit more capital due to the temporary nature of the permit and, in the past two years, has focused primarily on repairing oil wells and facilities.
In recent weeks, both Secretary of State Marco Rubio, a fierce opponent of the Bolivarian revolution, and President Trump himself, had criticized the extension of the concession to Chevron, and had threatened to suspend it.
Those comments are very accurate.
That was a death foretold. But I trust that Venezuela will open new safe doors. Not those offered by the "Redneck" of the White House, he just needs to put on the hood and white robe "KKK"
GO FORWARD VENEZUELA POWER!!!!
We agree with you, sir, it is time to stop waiting to negotiate our oil raw material. It is vital for you to buy and for us to sell, but if you don't want it, so be it. We will continue exploring the world for new reliable and secure clients. We have other future clients on the list who, without being arrogant, are willing to make long-term contracts and the idea is to win + win. Venezuela continues to be an unusual and extraordinary threat, according to you. Venezuela is free and independent.
Well, it is not surprising since, according to Obama's decree, we are a danger to the stability of the United States, and this will be an eternal war of the hegemon against the homeland of Bolivar and Chavez, while we continue to build our Bolivarian revolution, with the firm intention that it does not advance and much less triumph. But, with everything they do and the grovelers who follow them, we will win!