No reprieve for Maduro: Chevron’s Venezuela oil license ends Tuesday, Rubio says
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced Wednesday night that a key U.S. oil license allowing energy giant Chevron to operate in Venezuela will expire as scheduled next Tuesday — contrary to reports that the Trump administration was willing to extend a measure that critics claim would benefit the embattled regime of Nicolás Maduro.
“The pro-Maduro Biden oil license in #Venezuela will expire as scheduled next Tuesday, May 27,” Rubio wrote in a late-night post on X.
The license, originally issued by the U.S. Department of the Treasury, permitted certain foreign companies — chiefly Texas-based Chevron — to continue working in Venezuela’s heavily sanctioned oil sector. It was part of a broader Biden administration effort to encourage political dialogue with the Maduro government while easing economic and humanitarian pressures on Venezuelans.
Rubio’s statement signals a potentially pivotal shift in U.S. policy toward Venezuela, coming amid intense lobbying by oil industry representatives concerned about their investments in the country. Critics argue that continued oil deals risk propping up Maduro’s authoritarian government.
Just hours before Rubio’s announcement, the Miami Herald reported that representatives of the Trump administration had been quietly negotiating a high-stakes deal with Caracas. The proposed agreement would allow Chevron to keep exporting Venezuelan oil to the United States in exchange for Venezuela’s acceptance of thousands of migrants expected to lose legal status in the United States in the coming weeks.
Sources familiar with the talks told the Herald that Maduro was pushing for major political and economic concessions in return for any oil agreement, going beyond the scope of the license extension.
Previously, some outlets had reported that Chevron had already secured a two-month extension, a claim that was widely celebrated by members of Maduro’s regime. Wednesday’s announcement raises new questions about the future of U.S.-Venezuela oil ties.
Celebrating Rubio’s announcement, Miami Congresswoman Maria Elvira Salazar claimed that ending the Chevron license provides a crippling blow to Maduro’s finances.
“Doing business with Maduro is lining the pockets of a criminal narco-regime that represses, imprisons, and exports terror through the Tren de Aragua. With this news, the United States sends a strong message: We stand with the Venezuelan people and with freedom. Not one more dollar for the tyrants!,” she wrote.
The expiration of the license would deal a major blow to Venezuela’s already fragile oil sector. State-run oil firm PDVSA has long depended on foreign partners like Chevron to maintain operations amid chronic under-investment, corruption, and the effect of U.S. sanctions. Without Chevron’s expertise and resources, analysts warn that the country’s oil output, already severely diminished, could decline further.
Chevron currently produces approximately 220,000 barrels per day in Venezuela, roughly 24% of the country’s total output. Industry observers consider the company essential to any serious effort to revive Venezuela’s oil infrastructure.
Miami Herald reporters Jay Weaver and Nora Gámez Torres contributed to this story
This story was originally published May 22, 2025 at 11:05 AM.
