U.S. Rep. María Elvira Salazar (R-FL) on Oct. 15 cosponsored a bipartisan bill that would immediately halt investment by United States persons in the energy sector of Venezuela until the legitimate results of the disputed July 28 election are respected and Nicolas Maduro steps down.
“It’s long past time to cut off the flow of money that the Maduro dictatorship uses to oppress their people,” Rep. Salazar said. “We are sending a loud and clear message that if Maduro stays, there will be no oil money for the Venezuelan regime.”
The Revoke Exemptions for Venezuelan Oil to Curb Autocratic Repression (REVOCAR) Act of 2024, H.R. 9995, which is sponsored by U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL), would prohibit a U.S. person, or an entity owned or controlled by a U.S. person, to invest, trade, or operate within the energy sector of Venezuela, including the provision of goods, services, or finance to Petroleos de Venezuela, S.A., or its subsidiaries, representatives, or related companies; or the Maduro regime or any non-democratic successor government in Venezuela, according to the text of the bill.
On July 28, more than 10 million citizens of Venezuela voted in a presidential election in which “meticulously documented and publicized data from credible election monitors” showed that opposition candidate Edmundo González Urrutia received more than two-thirds of the votes against Maduro, the text says.
Nevertheless, the Maduro regime has refused to respect the outcome and subsequently arrested and abused thousands of citizens for peaceful political participation, states the text.
Then, 33 days after the election, the Biden administration renewed the license of U.S. oil company Chevron to operate in Venezuela, a move that Rep. Salazar says undermines the ability of the U.S. to adequately pressure Maduro to concede his defeat and leave power, according to her Oct. 15 statement.
If enacted, H.R. 9995 would rescind these licenses and ensure American and European companies could no longer finance Maduro and would hasten the democratic transition process voted for by the Venezuelan people, says the statement, noting that the prohibitions would extend for three years or until the President of the United States certifies that a peaceful, democratic transfer of power to Venezuelan president-elect Urrutia has taken place.
“Maduro’s brutal regime refuses to honor the undeniable election results, despite clear evidence proving his loss,” 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, must be part of our international effort to reject Maduro’s election theft.”
H.R. 9995 is companion legislation to the Halt All United States Investments in Venezuela’s Energy Sector Act of 2024, S. 4993, introduced on Sept. 9 by U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL).