Venezuelan opposition calls on US to cancel oil company licences

Venezuela’s main opposition coalition on Monday called on the United States to cancel the licences that allow Chevron and other energy companies to operate in the South American country to pressure President Nicolás Maduro into negotiating a transition from power.

The appeal came from an adviser to the campaign of Edmundo González Urrutia, who represented the Unitary Platform coalition in the July 28 election, and his main backer, opposition leader María Corina Machado. González and Machado claim their campaign won the vote by a wide margin, contradicting the decision of national electoral authorities to declare Maduro the winner.

“We want them cancelled … this is a lifeline to the regime,” adviser Rafael de la Cruz said in reference to the licences during a panel discussion hosted by the New York-based Council of the Americas business organisation. “We want all the oil companies to go to Venezuela. So, it’s not about the companies. It’s about the situation that is impoverishing the country so badly that practically the whole population wants this regime gone.”

California-based Chevron is the largest company to have received an individual permission from the administration of US President Joe Biden to do business with Venezuela’s state-owned oil company Petróleos de Venezuela SA, better known as PDVSA. The Treasury Department sanctioned PDVSA in 2019 as part of a policy punishing Maduro’s government for corrupt, anti-democratic and criminal activities.

Chevron’s licence was issued in 2022 after Maduro and the opposition coalition jumpstarted a negotiation process. In October, the Treasury Department granted Venezuela a broad reprieve from sanctions after Maduro and the opposition agreed to work to improve electoral conditions ahead of the 2024 presidential contest. But as hopes for a democratic opening faded, the Biden administration clawed back the relief.

The White House left open the possibility for companies to apply for licences exempting them from the restrictions, which could attract additional investment to the country with the world’s largest proven oil reserves. European companies have benefited from individual licences.

De la Cruz said the González-Machado campaign wants “to find common ground” with oil companies. But, he said, their presence in Venezuela at the moment give Maduro the ability to try to “normalise … de facto dictatorship that he is trying to set up in Venezuela.”

“We remain committed to conducting our business in compliance with applicable laws and regulations, both in the US and the countries where we operate,” Chevron spokesman Bill Turenne said in a statement.

The White House did not immediately comment on the call by the opposition coalition to cancel the licences. Chevron’s licence renews automatically. It was last renewed Sept 1 and is valid until March 2025.

Venezuela’s electoral authorities declared Maduro the victor hours after polls closed on July 28 but unlike previous presidential elections they never released detailed vote tallies to back up their claim, arguing that the National Electoral Council’s website was hacked. To the surprise of supporters and opponents, González and Machado shortly afterwards announced not only that their campaign had obtained vote tallies from over two-thirds of the electronic voting machines used in the election but also that they had published them online to show the world that Maduro had lost.

Global condemnation over the lack of transparency prompted Maduro to ask Venezuela’s high court, stacked with ruling party loyalists, to audit the results. The court reaffirmed his victory.

After the disputed election, legislation was introduced in the US Congress to prohibit American investments in Venezuela’s oil sector and to impose visa restrictions on current and former Maduro government officials. Resolutions recognising a González victory were also introduced in the House and Senate.

González, a former diplomat, earlier this month departed for exile in Spain after a warrant was issued for his arrest in connection with an investigation into the publishing of the vote tally sheets.

Last week, the US Treasury Department imposed sanctions against 16 allies of Maduro, accusing them of obstructing the vote and carrying out human rights abuses. Those targeted included the head of the country’s high court, leaders of state security forces and prosecutors.

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AP