Secret Biden Deal Allowed Chevron to Pay Venezuela Millions
Expanding oil production helped stabilize Venezuela’s economy by bringing in much-needed dollars and reducing inflationary pressures.
Source: Bloomberg
The Biden administration secretly permitted Chevron Corp. to pay hundreds of millions of dollars to the Venezuelan government despite a license that explicitly prohibited such disbursements, according to people familiar with the matter.
The supplement to a November 2022 sanctions waiver allowed Chevron to remain in compliance with US law while paying the regime of President Nicolás Maduro taxes and oil royalties, said the people, who asked not to be identified discussing non-public information. The initial waiver from the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control granted Chevron permission to conduct limited operations in the Latin American nation.