The administration of President Donald Trump stepped up Washington’s pressure on the Venezuelan government of President Nicolás Maduro March 4. They revoked oil giant Chevron’s license to operate there, leaving Venezuela with a big hole in its income.
The administration canceled the license granted more than two years ago by Trump’s predecessor, Joseph Biden. It said Venezuela has not complied with Washington’s demand to hold elections that meet the U.S. rulers’ approval, and hasn’t accepted deportations of “violent criminals” from the U.S. fast enough.
The Venezuelan government rejects Washington’s unilateral sanctions, saying they amount to an economic war designed to cripple the country’s economy. Chevron will now be prevented from exporting crude oil from Venezuela.
Chevron holds minority stakes in four joint projects with Venezuela’s state oil company, PDVSA, ventures that currently produce between 20% to 25% of the country’s total output. Venezuela would lose an estimated $4 billion in 2026 from the ban of Chevron’s current operations, which would have a significant impact on the country’s economy.
The sanction also affects some foreign firms with oil operations in Venezuela that were covered by licenses granted under Biden. Both Democratic and Republican administrations have imposed sanctions on Venezuela since 2017 and carried out multiple attempts to remove Maduro, and his predecessor, Hugo Chávez.
These moves are assaults on Venezuela’s sovereignty.
Nearly 8 million Venezuelans have left the country since 2014. Many headed north to the U. S. in recent years, as the country’s economy was battered with rampant inflation and widespread scarcity of basic goods, exacerbated by the effects of the punitive U.S. sanctions.
Washington uses tariffs as weapon
The Trump administration has also increased pressure on Venezuela by advancing the end-date of the Temporary Protective Status of 350,000 Venezuelans in the U.S., from October 2026 to April 2025. This will mean losing their work permits. The White House also moved up the end-date for TPS status for Haitians from February 2026 to August 2025.
Washington is also threatening to levy tariffs to pressure governments in the region to restrict immigration to the U.S. and force them to concede to other demands. They also work to foster anti-immigrant sentiments among working people in the U.S.
In a flagrant intervention in Venezuela’s affairs and a violation of its sovereignty, Washington has combined sanctions with giving backing to opposition capitalist political figures. Short of overthrowing the Maduro government, it also aims to pressure Caracas into closer relations with Washington and away from its rivals, especially Beijing.
The Chinese rulers have expanded their economic, political and military influence across Latin America in recent years, including strengthening their military ties to the Venezuelan government.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio oversaw the seizure of a Venezuelan government airplane by U.S. Department of Homeland Security officials in the Dominican Republic Feb. 26. Washington claims the plane was serviced using parts made in the U.S. in violation of the sanctions it imposes on Venezuela.
Meanwhile, two former presidents of Colombia, Álvaro Uribe and Iván Duque, added to the attacks on Venezuela’s sovereignty by calling for foreign military intervention to oust the Maduro government.