Biden allowed Chevron payments to Maduro despite sanctions

Joe Biden allowed the Nicolas Maduro regime to benefit financially from the license granted to Chevron Corp., at a time when US sanctions sought to pressure his stay in power. According to sources with knowledge of the matter, the Biden administration secretly allowed the oil company to transfer hundreds of millions of dollars to the Venezuelan regime, despite the fact that the license granted explicitly prohibited such payments.

A hidden agreement that contradicts the sanctions

In November 2022, the US Treasury Department issued a license allowing Chevron to resume limited operations in Venezuela after years of restrictions imposed under the Donald Trump Administration. However, the license clearly stated that the company could not make tax, royalty or dividend payments to the Maduro regime or any state entity.

However, an undisclosed addendum within the exemption allowed the oil company to make certain disbursements "essential to business operations," which in practice resulted in the payment of nearly $300 million in taxes to Venezuelan authorities, according to documents reviewed by Bloomberg.

Chevron's response

Chevron, the only major US oil company to maintain operations in Venezuela after the wave of nationalizations under Hugo Chavez in the 2000s, defended its performance by assuring that it complies with all US regulations.

"Chevron conducts its business globally in compliance with all laws and regulations, including any sanctions frameworks provided for by the US government," the company stated.

Trump evaluates extending Chevron's presence in Venezuela under new conditions

The 2022 agreement allowed Chevron to pump and export Venezuelan crude oil on the condition that Maduro advance democratic commitments. However, far from complying with the agreement, the Venezuelan dictator blocked the candidacy of his main adversary and declared his victory without evidence, in addition to ordering the arrest of more than 2,500 opponents.

Senator Marco Rubio described Biden's strategy as a failure. During a Senate hearing, he claimed the administration fell into a trap that only strengthened Maduro economically without obtaining real concessions. "Now they have these general licenses where companies like Chevron are actually providing billions of dollars of money into the regime’s coffers, and the regime kept none of the promises that they made," he denounced.

Meanwhile, Chevron has succeeded in getting the Trump Administration to consider extending the deadline for its stay in Venezuela for at least 30 more days. According to sources close to the negotiations, one of the conditions for the extension is that the taxes and royalties be used to finance migrant deportations instead of being delivered directly to the regime.