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Venezuelan opposition calls on US to cancel oil company licenses to pressure Maduro

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Venezuelan opposition calls on US to cancel oil company licenses to pressure Maduro
News

News

Venezuelan opposition calls on US to cancel oil company licenses to pressure Maduro

2024-09-17 08:49 Last Updated At:08:52

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Venezuela’s main opposition coalition on Monday called on the U.S. to cancel the licenses that allow Chevron and other energy companies to operate in the South American country to pressure President Nicolás Maduro to negotiate a transition from power.

The appeal came from an adviser to the campaign of Edmundo González Urrutia, who represented the Unitary Platform coalition in the July 28 election, and his main backer, opposition leader María Corina Machado. González and Machado claim their campaign won the vote by a wide margin, contradicting the decision of national electoral authorities to declare Maduro the winner.

“We want them canceled … this is a lifeline to the regime,” adviser Rafael de la Cruz said in reference to the licenses during a panel discussion hosted by the New York-based Council of the Americas business organization. “We want all the oil companies to go to Venezuela. So, it’s not about the companies. It’s about the situation that is impoverishing the country so badly that practically the whole population wants this regime gone.”

California-based Chevron is the largest company to have received an individual permission from the administration of U.S. President Joe Biden to do business with Venezuela’s state-owned oil company Petróleos de Venezuela S.A., better known as PDVSA. The Treasury Department sanctioned PDVSA in 2019 as part of a policy punishing Maduro’s government for corrupt, anti-democratic and criminal activities.

Chevron’s license was issued in 2022 after Maduro and the opposition coalition jumpstarted a negotiation process. In October, the Treasury Department granted Venezuela a broad reprieve from sanctions after Maduro and the opposition agreed to work to improve electoral conditions ahead of the 2024 presidential contest. But as hopes for a democratic opening faded, the Biden administration clawed back the relief.

The White House left open the possibility for companies to apply for licenses exempting them from the restrictions, which could attract additional investment to the country with the world’s largest proven oil reserves. European companies have benefited from individual licenses.

De la Cruz said the González-Machado campaign wants “to find common ground” with oil companies. But, he said, their presence in Venezuela at the moment give Maduro the ability to try to “normalize … de facto dictatorship that he is trying to set up in Venezuela.”

“We remain committed to conducting our business in compliance with applicable laws and regulations, both in the U.S. and the countries where we operate,” Chevron spokesman Bill Turenne said in a statement.

The White House did not immediately comment on the call by the opposition coalition to cancel the licenses. Chevron’s license renews automatically. It was last renewed Sept. 1 and is valid until March 2025.

Venezuela’s electoral authorities declared Maduro the victor hours after polls closed on July 28 but unlike previous presidential elections they never released detailed vote tallies to back up their claim, arguing that the National Electoral Council’s website was hacked. To the surprise of supporters and opponents, González and Machado shortly afterward announced not only that their campaign had obtained vote tallies from over two-thirds of the electronic voting machines used in the election but also that they had published them online to show the world that Maduro had lost.

Global condemnation over the lack of transparency prompted Maduro to ask Venezuela’s high court, stacked with ruling party loyalists, to audit the results. The court reaffirmed his victory.

After the disputed election, legislation was introduced in the U.S. Congress to prohibit American investments in Venezuela’s oil sector and to impose visa restrictions on current and former Maduro government officials. Resolutions recognizing a González victory were also introduced in the House and Senate.

González, a former diplomat, earlier this month departed for exile in Spain after a warrant was issued for his arrest in connection with an investigation into the publishing of the vote tally sheets.

Last week, the Treasury Department imposed sanctions against 16 allies of Maduro, accusing them of obstructing the vote and carrying out human rights abuses. Those targeted included the head of the country’s high court, leaders of state security forces and prosecutors.

Associated Press writer Aamer Madhani contributed to this report from Washington.

FILE - Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro addresses government loyalists gathered at the presidential palace in support of his reelection one month after the presidential vote, in Caracas, Venezuela, Aug. 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos, File)

FILE - Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro addresses government loyalists gathered at the presidential palace in support of his reelection one month after the presidential vote, in Caracas, Venezuela, Aug. 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos, File)

FILE - Gas is flared at the Jose Antonio Anzoategui oil complex in Barcelona, Anzoategui State, Venezuela, Tuesday, Jan. 9, 2024. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix, File)

FILE - Gas is flared at the Jose Antonio Anzoategui oil complex in Barcelona, Anzoategui State, Venezuela, Tuesday, Jan. 9, 2024. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix, File)

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Police arrest a man after 9 people are stabbed over 2 days in Seattle

2024-11-09 09:14 Last Updated At:09:20

SEATTLE (AP) — A man has been arrested in connection with a spate of random stabbings over two days in Seattle, in which nine people were injured -- five of them on Friday afternoon, police said.

“This incident was apparently one individual over a 38-hour period of time committing random assaults,” Deputy Chief Eric Barden said at the scene Friday.

The stabbings on Friday afternoon took place in a roughly four-block area in Seattle’s Chinatown-International District.

Witnesses reported a description of the suspect and officers found him nearby and took him into custody, police said. A weapon was found near the person who was arrested, and a knife was lodged in one of the victims, police said.

Four of the victims were taken to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle and one victim was treated at the scene and released. A Harborview spokesperson confirmed four victims were at the hospital and said all were in critical condition.

Barden said police suspect that the person arrested in connection with Friday's stabbings is the same person involved with at least four other stabbings that happened starting early Thursday. He cited similar suspect descriptions and the randomness of the attacks, but added that the investigation is ongoing.

The Thursday stabbings in Chinatown started when a 52-year-old woman was found with multiple stab wounds, police said. On Thursday afternoon, a 32-year-old man was found after being stabbed multiple times and at about 8 p.m. a 37-year-old man was stabbed multiple times in the back, police said.

Then early on Friday, police responding to an assault call found a 53-year-old man bleeding heavily from a neck injury. Police followed a blood trail to a nearby doorway and unsuccessfully used that as a starting point for police dogs to try and track a suspect.

“It is my understanding that everyone is alive,” Barden said of the victims on Friday afternoon.

Police said a 10th stabbing on Thursday night involved a cellphone robbery in which someone forcibly opened a vehicle door and tried to stab a 60-year-old man in the chest. The victim blocked the assault and was cut on his hand, police said. It was not clear that it was connected to the random attacks, police said.

People wait for a bus near the area where multiple people were stabbed earlier Friday, Nov. 8, 2024, in the Chinatown-International District in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

People wait for a bus near the area where multiple people were stabbed earlier Friday, Nov. 8, 2024, in the Chinatown-International District in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

Police officers gather security camera footage from nearby businesses after multiple people were stabbed earlier in the area Friday, Nov. 8, 2024, in the Chinatown-International District in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

Police officers gather security camera footage from nearby businesses after multiple people were stabbed earlier in the area Friday, Nov. 8, 2024, in the Chinatown-International District in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

Drivers move through the area where multiple people were stabbed earlier Friday, Nov. 8, 2024, in the Chinatown-International District in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

Drivers move through the area where multiple people were stabbed earlier Friday, Nov. 8, 2024, in the Chinatown-International District in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

Police officers stand near the scene as they gather security camera footage after multiple people were stabbed in the area Friday, Nov. 8, 2024, in the Chinatown-International District in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

Police officers stand near the scene as they gather security camera footage after multiple people were stabbed in the area Friday, Nov. 8, 2024, in the Chinatown-International District in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

Police officers take a statement from a nearby business owner after multiple people were stabbed Friday, Nov. 8, 2024, in the Chinatown-International District in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

Police officers take a statement from a nearby business owner after multiple people were stabbed Friday, Nov. 8, 2024, in the Chinatown-International District in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

Police officers stand near the scene as they gather security camera footage after multiple people were stabbed Friday, Nov. 8, 2024, in the Chinatown-International District in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

Police officers stand near the scene as they gather security camera footage after multiple people were stabbed Friday, Nov. 8, 2024, in the Chinatown-International District in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

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