Venezuela’s Executive Vice President and Minister of Hydrocarbons Delcy Rodríguez denounced on Monday that ExxonMobil is behind the revocation of the Chevron License. Photo: Presidential Press.
Guacamaya, March 10, 2025. In a press statement from the Miraflores Palace, Venezuela’s Vice President Delcy Rodríguez issued a strong denunciation against the U.S. oil giant ExxonMobil, alleging that the company is behind the recent escalation of sanctions.
The Vice President, who also serves as Minister of Hydrocarbons, presented a document that she claims was accessed by her office, revealing that ExxonMobil paid for lobbying efforts to expel Chevron and promote sanctions against Venezuelan oil.
“They created this document to influence U.S. administration officials, arguing that more sanctions not only cause significant economic suffering for the population but also create opportunities for regime change,” Rodríguez stated. The Vice President also mentioned that the document suggested increasing migration as a strategy to foster political despair.
The document, titled Sanctions on Venezuela Oil, Less Money Means Less Power, was allegedly authored by Juan Zarate, David Shedd, and Peter Williams. Rodríguez asserted that Zarate is known as the “Sanctions Czar” and identified him as the “ideologist behind unilateral coercive measures to ensure U.S. economic hegemony.”
She also identified David Shedd as the manager of Programs and Business Services at Northrop Grumman Corporation, an organization she accused of financing several U.S. politicians, including the current Secretary of State, Marco Rubio. Additionally, she highlighted that the third author, Peter Williams, is the Senior Vice President of Global Operations at ExxonMobil.
Opposition Leaders Accused of Conspiracy Against Venezuela
The Vice President, accompanied by the Deputy Minister of Oil and the President of PDVSA, accused Venezuelan opposition figures, including María Corina Machado, Leopoldo López, Juan Guaidó, and Carlos Vecchio, of promoting sanctions and being part of a “transnational criminal organization” that steals Venezuelan assets and harms the country through an “illegitimate blockade.”
Delcy Rodríguez also warned that she would hold ExxonMobil responsible if anything were to happen to any high-ranking Venezuelan official. “I responsibly denounce that if anything happens to any high authority of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, I will hold ExxonMobil directly accountable for the plans they have against the country,” she stated.
ExxonMobil and the Territorial Controversy in Essequibo
The official claimed that the multinational company “wickedly thought that revenge against Venezuela (after its exit from the country in 2005) would involve exploiting natural resources in the territory of Guayana Esequiba.” She also referenced the book From Destiny to Prosperity by Guyana’s former Minister of Natural Resources, Raphael Trotman, which “documents the violation of international law” by the U.S. oil company and Guyana.
“ExxonMobil gave Guyana $18 million to pay for lawyers to go to the International Court of Justice. At that time, the good offices process stipulated in the Geneva Agreement was underway, and Guyana acted in bad faith, turning its back on that process,” Rodríguez added.
Finally, Rodríguez reiterated that Venezuela will not recognize any decision issued by the ICJ regarding this controversy and that Venezuela’s history and rights will prevail.
