United States renewed authorization for five energy companies to continue operating in Venezuela despite sanctions

The US Treasury Department again extended this Tuesday, this time until December 1, 2021, the license that allows the American oil company Chevron to continue its essential operations in Venezuela despite the sanctions applied by Washington against the state-owned company Petróleos de Venezuela (PDVSA).

The previous license granted under President Donald Trump (2017-2021) expired on June 3.

With this new Treasury decision, Five US companies, including Chevron, allowed to remain active in Venezuela until December 1, despite the sanctions against PDVSA.

Thus, the new American president, Joe Biden, maintains the exceptional policy regarding the oil company in Venezuela of his predecessor, Republican Donald Trump.

The other four companies, all in the energy sector, are Halliburton, Schlumberger, Baker Hughes and Weatherford International.

Chevron, the second largest oil company in the United States and the seventh in the world, is the last major American company still operating in the petroleum sector in Venezuela, where it has been active for decades and has around 8,000 employees.

In April 2020, the United States ordered Chevron to “”gradually cease“Its oil activities in Venezuela and reduce its operations in the country to a simple”maintenance“Of your assets.

During his administration, Trump imposed numerous rounds of economic sanctions against the regime of Nicolás Maduro, which he considered “illegitimate”. For now, Biden, who arrived at the White House in January, has upheld Caracas’ economic punishment.

In mid-May, Juan González, Latin America adviser to President Biden, remarked at a conference in Miami that the current administration sees no “magic or simple” solution to the crisis in Venezuela advocated a multilateral approach to broaden the consensus in favor of a process leading to free and fair elections in that country.

The United States has been one of the Venezuelan opposition leader’s staunchest allies Juan Guaido, recognized in 2019 as interim president of Venezuela by more than fifty countries, although others like Russia and China maintain their recognition of Maduro.

(With information from EFE)

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