Treasury Department terminates Chevron's license to operate in Venezuela

The Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) reported that it formalized Tuesday the cancellation of license 41 that allowed Chevron to operate in Venezuela.

The information was released after,despite the fact that at the end of February Donald Trump had announced the revocation of the permit, the license had been automatically renewed last March 1.

According to the decision, the company will have until April 3 to close its operations in the South American country.

"Transactions previously authorized by Venezuela General License 41 related to the operation and management by Chevron Corporation or its subsidiaries (“Chevron”) of Chevron’s joint ventures in Venezuela (collectively, the “Chevron JVs”) involving Petróleos de Venezuela, S.A. (PdVSA) or any entity in which PdVSA owns, directly or indirectly, a 50 percent or greater interest, that are prohibited by Executive Order (E.O.) 13850, as amended by E.O. 13857, or E.O. 13884, each as incorporated into the Venezuela Sanctions Regulations, 31 CFR part 591 (the VSR), are authorized through 12:01 a.m. eastern daylight time, April 3, 2025," says the document published by OFAC.

The license granted to Chevron has generated controversy in the political arena, including criticism from Secretary of State Marco Rubio. Congress and the White House have argued that this exemption has provided the Maduro regime with an important avenue of funding.