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- White House Envoy Richard Grenell held negotiations with Maduro government officials in Antigua.
By Ricardo Vaz
CARACAS, (venezuelanalysis.com) – The Donald Trump administration has announced a two-month extension of Chevron’s license to operate in Venezuela.
The US oil company had General License 41, a sanctions waiver issued by Trump’s predecessor that allowed it to operate in the country, cancelled in March as part of the White House’s escalation of economic sanctions against the Caribbean nation.
Chevron’s May 27 deadline to wind down its crude extraction and export activities in Venezuela will now be extended for 60 days, according to reports. At the time of writing, the US Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has not published an amended license with the new expiry date.
The Texas-headquartered corporation is a minority shareholder in four joint ventures with Venezuelan state oil company PDVSA that together currently produce around a quarter of the country’s present output.
Chevron CEO Mike Wirth had stated that the company was “in dialogue” with the White House to defend its presence in Venezuela. Wirth, as well as pro-Trump analysts, argued that Chevron’s exit would benefit China and other US geopolitical rivals.
It is not clear if other PDVSA foreign partners, including Repsol (Spain) and Eni (Italy), that were also handed May 27 wind-down deadlines, will receive similar reprieves.
Venezuela’s oil industry remains heavily targeted by US coercive measures, including financial sanctions, an export embargo and secondary sanctions. The license terminations came alongside the threat of secondary tariffs on goods from countries that import Venezuelan oil.
Air Force veteran released
The short-term extension of Chevron’s license followed direct talks between the Nicolás Maduro government officials and Trump Special Envoy Richard Grenell in Antigua.
The negotiations also resulted in the release of US Air Force veteran Joseph St Clair, who flew back to the US with Grenell on Tuesday. It is not known whether the former soldier had been formally charged by Venezuelan judicial authorities.
The 33-year-old St Clair was reportedly arrested in November 2024, with sources claiming he was detained after crossing the Venezuela-Colombia border. In contrast, Venezuelan authorities have announced several arrests of foreign nationals in recent months, accusing them of involvement in destabilization plots, but did not reveal their identities.
Venezuelan interior minister Diosdado Cabello announced on Monday the arrest of 38 individuals, including 17 foreigners, alleged to be linked to a conspiracy aimed at sabotaging the May 25 regional and legislative elections.
Grenell visited Caracas in January and met with president Maduro at Miraflores Palace. The engagement in the early days of the second Trump administration led to the release of six US nationals detained in Venezuela as well as an agreement that Venezuela would receive deportation flights.
On Tuesday, the administration official confirmed St Clair’s release and the Chevron license extension, claiming that Washington does not want China to “come and take oil” from Venezuela.
However, secretary of state Marco Rubio cast doubt on the Chevron waiver renewal. On Tuesday night, Rubio wrote on Twitter/X that the license would expire on May 27.
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