Trump punishes Maduro and cancels oil licenses granted by Biden

Donald Trump has decided to punish Nicolás Maduro in the middle of his diplomatic honeymoon, after a series of decisions in favor of the Bolivarian revolution. "We are reversing the concessions that the corrupt Joe Biden granted to Nicolás Maduro, of Venezuela, in the oil transaction agreement, dated November 26, 2022, and also in relation to the electoral conditions within Venezuela, which have not been met by the Maduro regime," the US president made public through his Truth Social network.

Trump has expressed his displeasure at the lack of "speed" in the "return to Venezuela" of the alleged violent criminals "who were sent to our country," referring to the members of the Tren de Aragua, a transnational mafia that has spread throughout the continent with the connivance of Chavismo. So far, Caracas has scheduled four deportation flights with its own planes, including one from Guantanamo, with a stopover in Honduras, to transport to Venezuela a hundred Venezuelans held in the naval base located on the island of Cuba.

"I therefore order that the ineffective and unfulfilled Biden Concession Agreement be terminated as of March 1, when it was due for renewal," the US president determined, which would mean the cancellation of the licenses in favor of Chevron. The US oil company is currently producing more than 200,000 barrels of oil per day of the million barrels per day reported by Petróleos de Venezuela (PDVSA).

The move, which Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodriguez described as "harmful and inexplicable," marks a swift end to the Maduro government's hopes for a better relationship with the White House.

In a statement, Rodríguez warned that decisions similar to Wednesday's "fueled migration from 2017 to 2021 with widely known consequences."

The first measure against Maduro comes after Richard Grenell, Trump's special envoy who met face to face with the "son of Chavez" in Caracas, said last weekend that his political boss was not seeking "regime change," along the same lines as Elon Musk, who said in Dubai that "the US should deal with its own problems instead of pushing for regime change around the world."

The White House on Tuesday qualified the message of both, saying that "Trump opposes the Maduro regime," words that did not stop Mauricio Claver-Carone, envoy for Latin America, who said that the license granted to Chevron is "permanent."

"We are aware of today's announcement and are considering its implications," Chevron spokesman Bill Turenne said in a statement. "Chevron conducts its business in Venezuela in compliance with all laws and regulations, including the sanctions framework provided by the U.S. government."

A labyrinth of statements that have led to today's government statement. "Eliminating License 41 to Chevron is cutting off the source of financing for the dictatorship, it is preventing Nicolás Maduro from continuing to use the fresh dollars from oil revenues to persecute the leadership, torture Venezuelans and finance his state terrorism. It is holding the regime responsible for not having fulfilled its part of the deal and guaranteeing electoral conditions for June 28," reacted Voluntad Popular, the party of former political prisoner Leopoldo López.