Marco Rubio Claims Chevron License Will Expire Next Week, Contradicting Reports Of Secret Oil-For-Deportees Pact

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that Chevron's license to operate in Venezuela will expire "as scheduled" next week, contradicting reports about a pact between the Trump administration and Nicolas Maduro's authoritarian government to extend the company's operations in exchange for the taking of deportees.

"The pro-Maduro Biden oil license in Venezuela will expire as scheduled next Tuesday May 27th," Rubio said in his personal X account.

The statement also contradicts a statement by Trump envoy Richard Grenell, who said that Chevron's license would be renewed as a result of "progress" made with the Maduro government. The statement coincided with the release of U.S. Air Force veteran Joseph St. Clair, who had been detained in the South American country for approximately six months.

Chevron's oil operations, protected by a Treasury Department exemption despite sanctions, provide about 20% of Venezuela's total output and serve as a key economic channel for the country.

The U.S. Treasury Department had set April 3 as the deadline for Chevron to end its operations in the country, but extended the date to May 27 to give the oil company more time. Bloomberg reported earlier this week that the license would be extended for another 60 days.

And the Miami Herald claimed that the administrations are "quietly negotiating a high-stakes deal" to allow "Chevron to continue exporting Venezuelan oil to the U.S. in exchange for Caracas accepting the return of thousands of Venezuelan migrants likely to lose their legal status in the coming weeks," a reference to the Supreme Court ruling from this week allowing the Trump administration to revoke Temporary Protected Status for hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans living in the U.S. Maduro is also seeking "significant political and economic concessions," the outlet added.

A source in Venezuela told the Herald that Maduro would also grant broad oil and mining concessions to U.S: companies. In return, he is seeking to be removed from the U.S. Treasury sanctions list and have drug-trafficking related charges dropped.