President Donald Trump's envoy, Richard Grenell, is expected to meet with President Nicolas Maduro in Venezuela on Friday, according to the US special envoy for Latin America, Mauricio Claver-Carone.
President Trump said last week that his administration would likely stop buying oil from Venezuela and that he had focused his attention on the South American country.
Mr. Grenell, President Trump's envoy for special missions, previously said that he had spoken with several different Venezuelan officials and that he would begin meetings, a few days after the previous administration of President Biden imposed new sanctions on the Maduro government.
“Diplomacy is back,” Mr. Grenell said in a post on the X network, announcing the talks with Venezuelan officials. “Talks are a tactic.”
During the presidential campaign, Mr. Trump called Mr. Maduro a dictator. During his first term, President Trump undertook a “maximum pressure” campaign against Mr. Maduro, including harsh sanctions on Venezuela and that country’s oil industry.
After taking power, President Biden lifted some of the restrictions imposed by President Trump's administration following electoral promises by Mr. Maduro, but then reinstated them, saying that the Venezuelan leader had not kept promises of fair and democratic elections.
The Financial Times reported on Friday that Chevron is trying to defend the special US license that allows it to operate in Venezuela.
The oil company's chief executive, Mike Wirth, told the newspaper that Chevron would engage with the White House after US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the license should be reviewed.
If Chevron is forced to leave, China and Russia will have influence in the OPEC member country, Mr. Wirth said.
Last year, Venezuelan oil exports to the United States increased by 64%, or about 220,000 barrels per day, making America the second-largest export market after China, which imports 351,000 barrels per day, 18% less than a year earlier. /VOA (A2 Televizion)
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