State Secretary Marco Rubio recently confirmed the US will execute its revocation of licenses for US companies drilling oil in Venezuela.
Oil export licenses for US companies are set to expire on May 27th and President Donald Trump announced last February he would not be renewing them.
Secretary Rubio’s confirmation dispels speculation PresidentTrump could be considering extending oil export licenses to US companies as a negotiation tactic with Venezuelan Dictator Nicolas Maduro.
“The pro-Maduro Biden oil license in Venezuela will expire as scheduled next Tuesday May 27th,” assured Rubio.
President Trump’s license cancellation effectively reimposes sanctions on Venezuela’s oil sector that had been levied on Venezuela during Trump’s first term.
Former President Joe Biden lifted such sanctions in the ‘Barbados Agreement’ in exchange for assurances from Dictator Maduro that he would host free and fair elections.
Despite promises of allowing free and fair elections, the Venezuelan regime barred opposition leader Maria Corina Machado from participating in the same.
However, Machado invested her political capital into former Venezuelan Ambassador Edmundo Gonzalez, who subsequently won the presidential elections.
Subsequently, Gonzalez was forced to seek political asylum in Spain after the Maduro regime rejected the election results and threatened to arrest him.
Since then, Maduro has intensely persecuted political dissidents and even threatened Machado herself.
Despite the persecution, Machado and her supporters have steadfastly defied Venezuela’s government, most recently calling for a boycott of the upcoming spurious regional ‘elections.’
American lawmakers supportive of Machado and a democratic Venezuela commended the Trump administration for confirming the oil license revocation.
“No more lifelines for Maduro’s oppressive regime,” said Representative Maria Elvira Salazar (R-FL). “It’s time for Maduro, Diosdado, and the rest of the mafia to go.”
