Venezuela’s opposition has called on the US to cancel the oil license to put pressure on Maduro

Important Venezuela’s opposition coalition has called To America on Monday Revoke the licenses that allow Chevron and other energy companies to operate Dictator Nicolás Maduro in the South American country has pushed for talks to transition power.

Got a call from a campaign consultant Edmundo Gonzalez UrrutiaThe opposition leader represented the Unitary Platform coalition in the July 28 election and was his main supporter. Maria Corina Machado. González and Machado say their campaign won by a wide margin, contradicting the decision of national election officials to declare Maduro the winner.

“We want them to be repealed… It is a lifeline for the regime,” the adviser said. Rafael de la Cruz A reference to licenses during a panel discussion organized by a business entity American Councilis in New York. “We want all the oil companies to go to Venezuela. So, it is not about companies. “It’s about a situation that makes the country so impoverished that practically the entire population wants out of this regime.”

California-based Chevron is the largest company to receive an individual permit from the US president’s administration Joe Biden To do business with Petroleos de Venezuela SA, the Venezuelan state oil company PDVSA. The Treasury Department sanctioned PDVSA in 2019 as part of a policy to punish the Maduro regime. Corruption, anti-democratic and criminal activities.

Chevron’s license was granted in 2022 after Maduro and an opposition coalition began a negotiation process. In October, the Treasury Department imposed broad economic sanctions on Venezuela as Maduro and the opposition agreed to improve electoral conditions ahead of a 2024 presidential election, but the Biden administration scrapped the relief as hopes for a democratic start faded.

The White House has opened the door for companies to apply for licenses that would exempt the country from restrictions that could attract more investment to the country, which has the world’s largest proven oil reserves. European companies have benefited from individual licenses.

De la Cruz said Gonzalez-Machado’s campaign wants to “find common ground” with oil companies, but his presence in Venezuela now gives Maduro the ability to try to “normalize the de facto dictatorship he’s dealing with.” To be established in Venezuela.

“We are committed to conducting our operations in compliance with applicable laws and regulations in the United States and in the countries where we operate,” a Chevron spokeswoman said. Bill DurenneIn a statement.

The White House had no immediate comment on the opposition coalition’s demand to revoke the licenses. Chevron’s license is automatically renewed. It was last updated on September 1 and is valid till March 2025.

Venezuelan election officials declared Maduro the winner hours after the polls closed on July 28, but unlike previous presidential elections, they did not release detailed vote counts to back up their claim, arguing that the National Electoral Council’s website had been hacked. To the surprise of supporters and detractors, Gonzalez and Machado soon announced that their campaign had not only obtained two-thirds of the vote counts from the electronic voting machines used in the election, but posted them online to show off. Maduro is a lost world.

Universal condemnation of lack of transparency Maduro asked Venezuela’s Supreme Court, which has members loyal to the ruling party, to censor the results. The court reaffirmed its victory.

Following the disputed election, a law was introduced in the US Congress Ban US investments in Venezuela’s oil sector Impose visa restrictions on current and former Maduro government officials. Resolutions were also introduced in the House of Representatives and the Senate recognizing González’s victory.

Last week, the Treasury Department Sanctions were imposed against 16 of Maduro’s associatesThey accused him of preventing voting and committing human rights violations. The victims included the head of the country’s Supreme Court, heads of state security forces and prosecutors.

(With information from AP)