Venezuela: Trump restores sanctions on Chevron operations
President Donald Trump announced on Feb. 27 that the US government is revoking a special permit granted to energy giant Chevron to pump and export Venezuelan oil. The move, which reverses a 2022 decision by Biden to allow the company to bring Venezuelan oil to US markets by exempting it from economic sanctions, removes one of the South American country's few economic lifelines at a time of deepening crisis. In his post on TruthSocial, Trump claimed that the Venezuelan government had failed to keep up its side of the original bargain to meet "electoral conditions." He also charged that the "regime has not been transporting the violent criminals they sent into our Country...back to Venezuela at the rapid pace that they had agreed to." (NACLA Update)
Chevron loses Venezuela license
Chevron's license to operate in Venezuela would expire on May 27 as planned, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said five days before the deadline. Rubio's comment contradicted US special envoy Richard Grenell's contention following a meeting with a Venezuelan top official that a 60-day extension of the license would be granted. (Reuters)
Venezuela: demand release of detained government critics
The United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) called upon Venezuelan authorities May 13 to release all people arbitrarily detained since the 2024 presidential elections.
In a statement published by the OHCHR, High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk urged Venezuelan authorities "to release immediately all those arbitrarily detained, and to ensure due process and fair trial standards are met." (Jurist)
UN report: unchecked political persecution in Venezuela
Venezuelan authorities have continued to commit, and failed to investigate, grave human rights violations stemming from political persecution following the 2024 presidential elections, according to a United Nations fact-finding mission report released Sept. 22.
Experts presented new evidence of 25 protest-related deaths on July 29-30, 2024, a dozen of which reportedly involved state security forces. At a protest in the city of Maracay, the national guard and the army fired live ammunition into a crowd of demonstrators.
In November 2024, the Venezuelan government under President Nicolás Maduro adopted laws that aimed at restricting civil society. The Simón Bolívar Law enabled the government to deprive any potential opposition members of their civil rights, leading to “civil death,” while the NGO Financing Law led to the prohibition of non-governmental organizations–comparable to the "foreign agent laws" implemented in Russia and Georgia. Both Venezuelan laws have been heavily criticized by human rights and democracy organizations. (Jurist)