Venezuela: Democratic Senator Dick Durbin introduces bill to bar buying oil from Maduro's regime
The Illinois senator, second in command of the Democratic caucus in the Upper House, assured that the proposal serves as a reminder for President Trump and Secretary Marco Rubio to cancel business licenses for U.S. companies operating in Venezuela.

Dictator Nicolas Maduro in a file forum
Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL), second in command of the Democratic caucus in the Upper House, introduced a bill to end all oil and energy-related cooperation and trade between the United States and Venezuela, ruled by Chavista dictator Nicolás Maduro.
"We must put an end to the outright theft of the Venezuelan voters’ overwhelming choice for a better future. That’s why I introduced a bill today terminating all U.S. petroleum cooperation and related trade with Venezuela until the legitimate results of the country’s recent presidential election are respected. The Maduro regime clings to power using oil revenues dependent on U.S. involvement. Under this bill, that will end, and so will Maduro’s financial strength," the senator said at the time of the proposal's announcement.
Speaking on the Senate floor, Durbin recalled the electoral theft perpetrated by the Maduro regime on July 28, 2024, when a vast majority of ten million Venezuelans voted for candidate Edmundo Gonzalez, backed by opposition leader María Corina Machado.
Durbin assured that all serious international election observers, who received the electoral records collected by the independent table witnesses, affirmed based on the evidence of the results that Gonzalez won by a margin of two to one over the dictator Maduro, who after the elections initiated an intense persecution against his political opponents, Venezuelan civil society and political activists. Two weeks ago, on January 10, 2025, Maduro was sworn in for another presidential term despite lacking international recognition.
On the Senate floor, Durbin asserted that Venezuelans who came to the country, fleeing "oppression" and "misery," deserve U.S. action to pressure Maduro.

World
Donald Trump gives his support to Edmundo González Urrutia as president-elect of Venezuela and to María Corina Machado
Emmanuel Alejandro Rondón
"What are we going to do about Venezuela? The same man's still there. There have been not one but two rotten, suspect elections in time since I've been there," Durbin said.
"Last July, for example, Venezuela held another presidential election, during which the regime arbitrarily blocked leading opposition candidates from the ballot and tried to undermine the electoral process. Nonetheless, more than 10 million Venezuelans actually voted, and results meticulously documented by credible election monitors showed a sweeping victory not for Maduro, the incumbent, but for Edmundo Gonzalez, his opponent," the Democrat continued.
I’m on the Senate floor speaking about my bill to terminate petroleum trade with Venezuela until the legitimate results of their presidential election are respected, as well as my opposition to the nomination of RFK Jr. to be HHS Secretary. Watch. https://t.co/qgnRaxeOqC
— Senator Dick Durbin (@SenatorDurbin) January 27, 2025
Durbin noted that the brand new Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, spoke on a call with González and María Corina Machado, and stressed that his bill is a way to remind the incoming administration that cutting trade licenses to not fund the Venezuelan regime is "a good idea."
"The Maduro regime announced that it had won; actually, that's not true", Durbin said. "[they] Arbitrarily arrested thousands of opponents, issued an arrest warrant for Gonzalez, which is becoming a common trick by these dictators, and refused to swear him in on inauguration day."
And he added: "So today I'm introducing a short bill terminating U.S. petroleum cooperation and related trade with Venezuela until the legitimate results of the election are respected. It's pretty simple. The entrenched regime claims to buy using oil revenues, some of them from the United States. Under my bill, that comes to an end."
"President Trump and Secretary Rubio can also take this step right now without my legislation, but maybe the bill will be a reminder that this is a good idea," the Democratic senator sentenced.
Biden to blame for U.S. companies trading with Maduro
However, the Biden administration's effort notably failed. The Maduro regime took advantage of the lifting of U.S. sanctions to sell oil to companies like Chevron and begin to fill its coffers once again. Likewise, Biden not only lifted the tough sanctions imposed by Trump, but also released Alex Saab, the Venezuelan dictator's main front man, and exchanged his two "narco-brothers" captured in the US in exchange for the release of seven U.S. hostages.
All these policies led Maduro to finance himself once again and, after he benefited from the rapprochement policies, to once again attack his political adversaries, carrying out one of the most glaringly evident electoral frauds in the history of the region.