President Donald Trump has revoked Venezuela’s oil license even as delusional leftists bizarrely accuse him of catering to Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro.
Three years ago, the Biden administration granted Chevron a license to produce and sell oil in Venezuela. At that time, nobody on the left complained that President Joe Biden was selling out to Maduro.
“We are hereby reversing the concessions that Crooked Joe Biden gave to Nicolás Maduro, of Venezuela, on the oil transaction agreement, dated November 26, 2022, and also having to do with Electoral conditions within Venezuela, which have not been met by the Maduro regime,” President Trump wrote on Truth Social this Wednesday.
“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. I am therefore ordering that the ineffective and unmet Biden ‘Concession Agreement’ be terminated as of the March 1st option to renew. Thank you for your attention to this matter!” he added.
Venezuela Vice President and Oil Minister Delcy Rodriguez lashed out after the announcement.
“The United States government has made a harmful and inexplicable decision to announce sanctions against the American company Chevron,” he said in a statement. “They seek to harm the Venezuelan people, but they are harming the US, its people, and its companies.”
The cancellation of this Biden-era deal is expected to drastically affect Venezuela’s economy.
“Chevron is the only US oil major left in Venezuela and serves as a vital lifeline, having helped tame runaway inflation in recent years,” according to Bloomberg.
“The company’s oil production, which is operated through joint ventures with state-controlled Petroleos de Venezuela SA, totaled more than 200,000 barrels a day as of mid-2024. It accounts for about 20% of the oil-rich nation’s production and has helped boost overall output above 1 million barrels a day,” Bloomberg’s reporting continues.
Speaking with the paper, Francisco Monaldi of Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy in Houston estimated that this move could cut oil production in Venezuela by up to 100,000 barrels per day.
“Venezuela might see its revenues decrease by the void of barrels sold at US refineries at market price rerouting to the Asia market with discount,” he said. “But it could compensate this by taking all of Chevron’s shares of their production.”
All this comes after U.S. Envoy for Special Missions Ric Grenell traveled to Venezuela last month to meet with Maduro. The meeting ended with him returning home with six previously detained American citizens.
We are wheels up and headed home with these 6 American citizens.
They just spoke to @realDonaldTrump and they couldn’t stop thanking him. pic.twitter.com/sCvCO4HQQv
— Richard Grenell (@RichardGrenell) February 1, 2025
At the time, Democrats began accusing Trump of kowtowing to Maduro.
“The Trump Administration is working to directly undermine Venezuela’s transition of power to President-Elect Edmundo Gonzalez by negotiating with dictator Nicolás Maduro,” Florida Democrat Party Chair Nikki Fried whined in a statement.
“To add insult to injury, this meeting was about Trump’s plans to cruelly deport Venezuelans to Maduro’s dictatorial regime to possibly face kidnapping or worse. Donald Trump promised he would be a dictator on day one, and he’s delivering on that promise to Venezuelans,” she added.
STATEMENT: Donald Trump promised he would be a dictator on day one and he’s delivering on that promise to Venezuelans by negotiating a deal that will return Venezuelans to the hands of a dictatorship many worked so hard to escape. https://t.co/WiZkKFtaGe
— Florida Democrats (@FlaDems) January 31, 2025
While the first thing she said was complete bull, her latter remark was accurate, according to Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
Appearing on Fox News host Brian Kilmeade’s radio show this Wednesday, Rubio revealed that Maduro had agreed during the meeting with Grenell to take back Venezuelans, including gang members, who’d illegally entered the U.S.
“Remember, Venezuela stopped taking migration flights, deportations because they wanted to blackmail Joe Biden,” he said. “Donald Trump’s not going to be blackmailed. President Trump will not be blackmailed by them.”
Rubio went on to slam Maduro.
“He is allowing Iran to operate out of Venezuela, he’s allowing the Chinese to operate out of Venezuela, he’s threatening his neighbors in the region, he has flooded us with gang members, flooded us with these Tren de Aragua gang members that are in this country doing terrible things,” he said.
Listen to his radio interview below:
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V. Saxena is a staff writer with a decade of experience as a professional writer, and a lifetime of experience as an avid news junkie. He holds a degree in computer technology from Purdue University. Saxena also contributes to BizPac Review.
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