State Dept says Chevron must leave Venezuela, even as American freed

The US State Department said Thursday that Chevron must wrap up operations in Venezuela next week as scheduled, contradicting an envoy who told a podcast differently after Caracas freed an American.

President Donald Trump's administration has canceled an exemption in sanctions on Venezuela, run by leftist Nicolas Maduro, that had been granted by former president Joe Biden under a previous deal.

Ric Grenell, a Trump loyalist who holds a broad role of "special presidential envoy for special missions," on Tuesday flew back to the United States with a freed US military veteran, Joe St. Clair, who had been detained in Venezuela since November.

Grenell, who secured St. Clair's release in talks in Antigua, said after his return to Washington that Trump believed in "engagement."

Asked in an interview with pro-Trump media personality Steve Bannon about Chevron, Grenell said, "President Trump authorized that extension if we were able to get some progress, if we were able to build some confidence."

"We were able to do that today. So that extension will be granted," Grenell told Bannon's "War Room" podcast.

"We want to put America first and do what's best for America. That means making sure that the Chinese do not take the Venezuelan oil," he said.

But US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who is also Trump's national security advisor, promptly wrote on X late Wednesday: "The pro-Maduro Biden oil license in Venezuela will expire as scheduled next Tuesday May 27th."

Asked about the contradicting messages, State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce said Rubio was "making it clear that that license is going to expire."

"There's no confusion. I think many people, on every issue, can have a lot of opinions, but I think clearly who we look to are the people who have the power to have the impact and who make the decision," Bruce said.

Rubio, a Cuban-American and former senator from Florida, is a vociferous opponent of Latin American leftists including in Venezuela and Cuba.

Maduro is angling to sweep power in parliamentary and regional elections on Sunday, 10 months after his disputed re-election. Only a handful of countries, including longtime allies Russia and Cuba, have recognized the 62-year-old's presidency.

Grenell, early in Trump's term, traveled to Venezuela which agreed to send planes to bring back undocumented migrants, a key Trump priority.

The deal drew outrage from Florida Republicans in the narrowly divided House of Representatives who instead want more robust support for Venezuela's democratic opposition.

Source: AFP