Opponents to the rule of the authoritarian president of Venezuela, Nicolàs Maduro, are calling for the U.S. to cancel licenses for U.S. oil companies (particularly Chevron) to do business with state-owned oil company, PDVSA, in order to sanction Maduro’s regime. In 2019, as a response to Maduro’s corrupt practices, the U.S. made it illegal for U.S. companies to do business with PDVSA without being granted a license from the federal government. These sanctions were rolled back somewhat in 2022 as part of negotiations with Maduro to ensure a democratic presidential election in 2024 — Chevron was issued its license in 2022. As the election was very much not democratic, however, these sanctions were re-imposed in April of this year, but Chevron still has a valid license to do business in Venezuela.
The state of Venezuela under Nicolàs Maduro is, in so many words, really bad. Maduro has been in power since 2013 and, under his rule, Venezuela continues to face a failing economy, rampant political corruption and human rights violations. In the most recent election in July of this year Maduro was named as the winner, despite tally sheets (made public by his opposition) showing that he lost to his opponent Edmundo Gonzàles. Since the export of crude oil is central to Venezuela’s economy, sanctioning its production may be the best way for the U.S. to condemn Maduro’s regime — but would the cost then, be suffered by the already struggling people of Venezuela, rather than their ruler? Can Maduro really be persuaded into giving up his power?
I don’t see the U.S. changing its approach to this issue at this time; the sanctions should remain in place and since, to my understanding, the license granted to Chevron is economically beneficial to the U.S. and is constructed so as to limit profits given to PDVSA, I don’t see why the U.S. should cancel the license. The crisis in Venezuela, though tragic, doesn’t seem to be of much importance to U.S. interests (considering our limited relationship with Venezuela to begin with) so it simply doesn’t make sense to take a more active role in instituting a fair democracy in the country. As for what Venezuela should do, by all means the people should continue attempts to challenge Maduro’s rule and advocate for his removal from office. Instituting a democracy is the only certain way to regain U.S. investment in Venezuela. That’s all easier said than done, though, isn’t it?
Chevron is an American Multi-National Corporation that conducts business in 27 different countries including, obviously, Venezuela. In Venezuela, Chevron has invested millions of dollars towards social programs, intended to strengthen local communities. Chevron also says it partners with local NGOs to further promote economic development. From this description, Chevron’s presence in Venezuela seems to be beneficial to the economy of the area.