Venezuela's main opposition urges US to revoke oil firm license to pressure Maduro
Date
9/17/2024 3:56:33 AM
(MENAFN) Venezuela's main opposition coalition has urged the U.S. government to revoke licenses that allow Chevron and other energy companies to operate in Venezuela, aiming to pressure President Nicolás Maduro into negotiating a transition of power. This call was made by Rafael de la Cruz, an adviser to the campaign of Edmundo González Urrutia, who represented the Unitary Platform coalition in the recent election. Despite the national electoral authorities declaring Maduro the winner, González and his primary supporter, opposition leader María Corina Machado, claim their campaign won by a substantial margin.
De la Cruz argued during a panel hosted by the Council of the Americas that these licenses serve as a "lifeline" to Maduro's regime, which he says has been responsible for the country’s severe impoverishment. He emphasized that the opposition’s stance is not against the presence of oil companies in Venezuela, but against the ongoing situation that supports the current government. California-based Chevron is the largest firm granted a license to operate with Venezuela’s state-owned PDVSA, under an exemption provided by the Biden administration after a negotiation process between Maduro and the opposition.
The licenses were part of an effort to encourage dialogue and potential electoral reforms in Venezuela. In October, the U.S. Treasury Department eased some sanctions in response to an agreement between Maduro and the opposition to enhance electoral conditions before the 2024 presidential elections. However, as prospects for democratic progress diminished, the Biden administration retracted some of this relief. While the White House has not yet commented on the coalition's request to cancel the licenses, Chevron’s authorization, which renews automatically and is valid until March 2025, remains in place.
After the election on July 28, Venezuela’s electoral authorities quickly declared Maduro the winner but did not release detailed voting data, citing a hack of the National Electoral Council’s website. In response, González and Machado claimed to have gathered and published vote tallies from over two-thirds of the electronic voting machines used in the election, suggesting Maduro lost. The lack of transparency led to widespread condemnation, prompting Maduro to request an audit by Venezuela’s high court, which subsequently reaffirmed his victory.
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