President Donald Trump said this week that his administration is reversing President Joe Biden’s decision to ease sanctions against the government of Venezuelan socialist dictator Nicolás Maduro.
Trump posted on social media: “We are hereby reversing the concessions that Crooked Joe Biden gave to Nicolás Maduro, of Venezuela, on the oil transaction agreement, dated November 26, 2022, and also having to do with Electoral conditions within Venezuela, which have not been met by the Maduro regime.”
“Additionally, the regime has not been transporting the violent criminals that they sent into our Country (the Good Ole’ U.S.A.) back to Venezuela at the rapid pace that they had agreed to,” Trump continued in his post on Wednesday.
“I am therefore ordering that the ineffective and unmet Biden ‘Concession Agreement’ be terminated as of the March 1st option to renew,” he concluded. “Thank you for your attention to this matter!”
The move appears to be a blow for the United States oil company Chevron, which was granted an exception in 2022 to pump in Venezuela.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a subsequent statement that in accordance with Trump’s directive, he is “providing foreign policy guidance to terminate all Biden-era oil and gas licenses that have shamefully bankrolled the illegitimate Maduro regime.”
Today, pursuant to @POTUS directive, I am providing foreign policy guidance to terminate all Biden-era oil and gas licenses that have shamefully bankrolled the illegitimate Maduro regime.
— Secretary Marco Rubio (@SecRubio) February 27, 2025
The announcement comes after Trump special envoy Richard Grenell visited Venezuela last month and reportedly had secured commitments from their government to accept deportation flights from the United States.
“I would urge the Maduro government, the Maduro regime in Venezuela, to heed special envoy Ric Grenell’s message,” said Mauricio Claver-Carone, Trump’s special envoy to Latin America, at the time. “Ultimately there will be consequences otherwise.”
Related: House Votes To Ban Doing Business With Socialist Maduro’s Venezuela Regime