The increase in sanctions on Venezuela suggests that a new hyperinflationary process may resurface in the Venezuelan landscape, following the series of revoked operational licenses imposed by Donald Trump’s administration on Nicolás Maduro’s regime and PDVSA in recent days.
The economic blockade surrounding the Maduro tyranny is becoming increasingly suffocating for the dictatorship, which now sees its legal financing sources reduced because of the revocation of operational licenses in Venezuela by Trump’s administration affecting a set of oil and gas companies that were conducting business in Venezuelan territory with U.S. authorization.
Despite the backing that Russia and China have shown to Maduro, an economic disaster is looming for Petróleos de Venezuela S.A. (PDVSA), now deprived of alliances that previously allowed it to revive its oil production.
The impending lack of diluents will force PDVSA to produce more light crude Merey to blend with heavy and extra-heavy crudes from the Orinoco Belt. Likely, the Venezuelan oil company will focus its operations in northern Monagas state, where production activities are highly costly. Additionally, sales through fake operators in Asia and irregular mechanisms that result in risky operations yield losses or minimal profits, at best.
Secondary Tariffs on Venezuela
Donald Trump recently announced that he will subject Venezuela to a “secondary tariff for the shipment of criminal migrants and gang members to the United States.” This application of customs duties on Venezuelan imports will operate through the imposition of “a 25% tariff on countries that purchase oil and gas from Venezuela.”
This is the reprisal Trump takes against Maduro’s policy of deliberately and deceitfully sending “tens of thousands of high-level criminals and others, many of whom are murderers and very violent individuals. Among the gangs sent to the United States is the Tren de Aragua, designated as a ‘Foreign Terrorist Organization’,” stated the president. This secondary tariff will take effect on April 2, 2025 (1) (2).
The Regime Acts Oblivious
Delcy Rodríguez, the regime’s vice president and Minister of Hydrocarbons, stated that they maintain fluid communication with the oil and gas multinationals operating in Venezuela after learning about the revocation of the licenses that allowed them to do business in the country.
“We were prepared for this situation and are ready to continue fulfilling contracts with these companies, within the framework of the Constitution of the Republic and Venezuelan laws,” reads a statement issued from Rodríguez’s Instagram account (3).
She asserted that “international companies do not require licenses or authorization from any foreign government since Venezuela does not recognize or apply any extraterritorial jurisdiction. We are a reliable partner and will continue to fulfill agreements made with these companies.”
According to Rodríguez, oil and gas activities continue “their course and [the regime] remains open to all national and international investments for the development of this strategic sector.”
“Venezuela is a free country. We are not anyone’s colony,” expressed Maduro on Telegram.
Effective Measures: Trump
On his part, Donald Trump expressed satisfaction with the results of his tariff measures on countries that support Maduro’s regime through oil or gas purchases. “They have already had a significant effect,” he assured.
He claims that changes in the behavior of companies operating in Venezuela due to the new tariffs, which will take effect beginning April 2, 2025, are already visible. Trump mentioned that “the secondary tariffs that impose a 25% charge on countries buying Venezuelan crude have forced companies to rapidly abandon their operations.”
The president highlighted that even Chinese ships operating in Venezuela lifted anchor upon hearing the news of the new tariffs (4).
The U.S. Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, also warned that “any country allowing its companies to produce, extract, or export oil from Venezuela will be subject to new tariffs, and any company will face sanctions.”
Maurel & Prom
Donald Trump revoked licenses from a group of oil and gas companies that were conducting commercial activities in Venezuelan territory.
According to its website, “Maurel & Prom is an exploration and production company of oil and gas listed on the regulated Euronext Paris market” that operates in Venezuela with Petroregional del Lago (Urdaneta Oeste).
On Monday, March 31, Maurel & Prom joined the list of companies whose operating licenses in Venezuela have been revoked by the Trump administration through the Treasury Department.
The company, from its Paris headquarters, received notification of the license revocation in Venezuela, with a liquidation deadline until May 27, 2025, on March 28, 2025, and specified that the deadline for liquidating its Venezuelan operations expires on May 27, 2025.
It referred to the fact that M&P is “currently evaluating the implications of this decision in close collaboration with its legal advisors” and is monitoring “the evolution of the situation,” while “understands that this measure is part of a broader OFAC initiative affecting U.S. and international oil companies operating in Venezuela with similar authorizations, pending a possible agreement between the United States and Venezuela as the situation continues to evolve.”
Furthermore, it mentioned the announcement made by OFAC on March 6, 2025, regarding the cessation of transactions related to the 8.5% Bond of Petróleos de Venezuela S.A. 2020.
Repsol Aims to Stay in Venezuela
After being informed by Trump’s government that its license to export crude oil and derivatives from Venezuela was revoked, the Spanish company Repsol, through its CEO, Josu Jon Imaz, reported that it maintains an “open and fluid dialogue” with the U.S. government and clarified that they will “analyze the situation to see if they are ‘able to find mechanisms’ to continue operating in Venezuela.”
Josu Jon Imaz made it clear that Repsol’s operations in Venezuela are mainly in the natural gas area, and they only have a “small production of oil” (5).
Global Oil Terminals
The Florida-based company owned by mogul Harry Sargeant, Global Oil Terminals, which operated in Venezuela since May 2024 after obtaining a license to import heavy crude for paving roads in the United States, was also informed about the termination of the three licenses that allowed its activities in the country.
The U.S. Treasury Department ordered Global Oil Terminals to finalize its payments to Venezuela before April 2, 2025, having revoked its operating permits (6).
Chevron
Previously — on March 4, 2025 — the U.S. government had revoked Chevron’s operating license in Venezuela, setting a deadline of April 3, 2025, for ceasing its activities.
It’s worth noting that instead of the usual six-month period, the U.S. only gave Chevron one month to wind down its Venezuelan business. This was already expected news after Donald Trump criticized Maduro for not activating the deportations of undocumented migrants as his administration had hoped.
Chevron maintained operations in Venezuela based on a license granted by Joe Biden in November 2022 to contribute to increasing Venezuelan oil production in exchange for holding transparent presidential elections, an agreement that the Venezuelan regime did not comply with (7).
ENI and Reliance Also Cease Operations
The Italian company Eni was also notified that it could no longer receive crude oil from PDVSA as payment for the gas it produces in Venezuela, an activity that Joe Biden authorized as an exception to the sanctions.
It was reported that Reliance Industries, a company from India, will also halt its imports of Venezuelan oil following the announcement of a 25% tariff by the United States on countries purchasing oil from Venezuela (8).