Trump Reverses Chevron’s Venezuela Oil License, Citing Lack of Electoral Reforms

WASHINGTON, Feb 26 (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday said he was reversing a license given to Chevron to operate in Venezuela by his predecessor Joe Biden more than two years ago, accusing President Nicolas Maduro of not making progress on electoral reforms and migrant returns.

In a post on Truth Social, Trump said he was “reversing the concessions” of the “oil transaction agreement, dated November 26, 2022.”

Trump did not name Chevron in his comments, but Washington granted Chevron a license to operate in Venezuela’s oil sector on November 26, 2022. It was the only license the administration issued for Venezuela that day.

“The U.S. government has made a damaging and inexplicable decision by announcing sanctions against the U.S. company Chevron,” Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodriguez said in a statement posted on Telegram.

She said “these kinds of failed decisions” had prompted migration out of Venezuela.

The White House did not immediately respond to requests for further detail on Trump’s comments.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio later said on X he will provide foreign policy guidance to terminate all Biden-era oil and gas licenses “that have shamefully bankrolled the illegitimate Maduro regime.”

It was not immediately clear which, if any, other companies that would affect, but the U.S. State and Treasury Departments have granted a number of licenses and authoritizations in recent years, including to foreign firms.

Chevron said it was aware of Trump’s post and was considering its implications.

Chevr…