Home DESTACADOS Legislation To Stop Venezuelan Regime’s Oil Money Flow

Legislation To Stop Venezuelan Regime’s Oil Money Flow

by Soraya Alcalá
María Elvira Salazar

WASHINGTON, D.C.

Western Hemisphere Subcommittee Chairwoman María Elvira Salazar (R-FL) and Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL) introduced the bipartisan Revoke Exemptions for Venezuelan Oil to Curb Autocratic Repression (REVOCAR) Act. The legislation prohibits new and existing licenses for companies to transact with Venezuela’s state-owned oil company, PDVSA.

The dictator Nicolás Maduro fraudulently claimed victory over the opposition candidate, Edmundo González Urrutia, who won with nearly 70% of the Venezuelan people’s vote. On January 10, 2025, Maduro illegally took the oath of office for a third term. The REVOCAR Act is critical to stopping Maduro from trying to remain in power for the second time.

Oil exports are the lifeline of the socialist Maduro regime. They are what fuels the repressive apparatus being used to deny the democratic voice of the Venezuelan people,” said Chairwoman Salazar. “By going after Maduro’s blood money, we give the freedom fighters taking the streets in support of Edmundo González a chance to exercise their God-given political freedom. We will never stop our efforts to degrade the stranglehold of the illegal and illegitimate Maduro regime and until Venezuela’s national destiny is fully in the hands of its people. Maduro’s time is up, he needs to go.

Ahead of the January 10, 2025 inauguration date, Chairwoman Salazar has denounced the Maduro regime for blatantly ignoring the will of the Venezuelan people in voting for an end to Chavismo. She also forcefully condemned the attempted kidnapping of opposition leader María Corina Machado during the January 9 protests. At a hearing last September, she also called out several oil companies in the United States and Europe for continuing to conduct business with PDVSA, Venezuela’s state-owned oil company and financial lifeline for the Maduro regime. With the critical source of funds Maduro receives from these business dealings, he is allowed to continue financing his repressive apparatus against opposition leaders and dissidents across the country.

The REVOCAR Act ends Maduro’s financial lifeline by prohibiting American citizens and companies from engaging with PDVSA by eliminating General Licenses issued by the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC). These licenses are necessary to do business with the Maduro regime. The prohibitions would extend for three years or until the President certifies that a peaceful, democratic transfer of power to Edmundo González Urrutia has taken place.

While the opposition is under siege and Maduro plans to inaugurate himself tomorrow – despite a clear election loss – American efforts to support democracy and punish repression have been far too slow. The United States must always support peaceful, pro-democracy movements and shun autocrats no matter who’s in the White House,” said Rep. Wasserman Schultz. Rescinding these special licenses, which exclusively serve to subsidize the regime’s crony corruption, violent repression, and flagrant human rights abuses, are critical to meaningfully rejecting Maduro’s election theft. We cannot afford to cave to fossil fuel companies’ investors at the expense of democracy, dignity and justice.

Related Videos

Ir al contenido