(Mexico City) Venezuela’s main opposition coalition on Monday called on the United States to revoke licenses that allow oil company Chevron and other energy companies to operate in the South American country, in a bid to pressure President Nicolás Maduro to negotiate a transition of power.
The call was made by a campaign adviser to Edmundo González Urrutia, who represented the United Platform coalition in the July 28 elections, and his main supporter, opposition leader María Corina Machado. Mr. González and Mr.me Machado’s campaign claims its campaign won the vote by a wide margin, contradicting the decision of national electoral authorities to declare Mr Maduro the winner.
“We want them to be canceled… it’s a lifeline for the regime,” said adviser Rafael de la Cruz, referring to the licenses, during a roundtable organized by the New York-based employers’ organization Council of the Americas.
“We want all the oil companies to go to Venezuela. So it’s not about the companies. It’s about the situation that is making the country so poor that practically the entire population wants this regime to disappear.”
California-based Chevron is the largest company to receive individual approval from U.S. President Joe Biden’s administration 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 Mr. Maduro’s government for corrupt, undemocratic and criminal activities.
Chevron’s license was issued in 2022 after Mr. Maduro and the opposition coalition launched a negotiation process. In October, the Treasury Department granted Venezuela a broad reprieve from sanctions after Mr. Maduro and the opposition agreed to work to improve electoral conditions ahead of the 2024 presidential election. But as hopes for a democratic opening faded, the Biden administration withdrew that relief.
The White House has left open the possibility for companies to apply for licenses exempting them from the restrictions, which could attract additional investment to the country that has the world’s largest oil reserves. European companies have been granted individual licenses.
Mr. de la Cruz said the González-Machado campaign wanted to “find common ground” with the oil companies. But, he said, their presence in Venezuela right now gives Mr. Maduro the opportunity to try to “normalize … the de facto dictatorship that he’s trying to establish in Venezuela.”
“We remain committed to conducting our business in compliance with applicable laws and regulations, both in the United States and in the countries where we operate,” Chevron spokesman Bill Turenne said in a statement.
The White House did not immediately comment on the opposition coalition’s call to revoke the licenses. Chevron’s license renews automatically. It was last renewed on May 1er September and is valid until March 2025.
Venezuela’s electoral authorities declared Mr Maduro the winner within hours of polls closing on July 28, but unlike in previous presidential elections, they never released a detailed vote count to back up their claim, arguing that the National Electoral Council’s website had been hacked.
To the surprise of his supporters and opponents, Mr Gonzalez and Mrme Machado announced shortly afterward that their campaign had obtained the results from more than two-thirds of the electronic voting machines used in the election, but also that they had published them online to show the world that Mr. Maduro had lost.
Global condemnation of the lack of transparency prompted Mr Maduro to ask Venezuela’s Supreme Court, made up of ruling party loyalists, to audit the results. The court reaffirmed his victory.
After the disputed election, legislation was introduced in the U.S. Congress to ban U.S. investment in Venezuela’s oil sector and to impose visa restrictions on current and former officials of Maduro’s government. Resolutions recognizing Mr. González’s victory were also introduced in the House and Senate.
Mr Gonzalez, a former diplomat, went into exile in Spain earlier this month after an arrest warrant was issued for him in connection with an investigation into the publication of vote tally sheets.
Last week, the Treasury Department imposed sanctions on 16 allies of Mr. Maduro, accusing them of obstructing the vote and committing human rights abuses. Those targeted included the country’s chief justice, leaders of the state security forces and prosecutors.