Trump’s Chevron Deal Is a Win for America

The Trump administration has taken the decision to reinstate Chevron’s licence to operate in Venezuela, marking a decisive and long-overdue shift in its Venezuela policy. The decision, which will see Chevron resume operations in the world’s largest proven oil reserves after being barred in May 2025, is more than an economic arrangement. It is a significant foreign policy recalibration. For too long, US engagement in Venezuela has been driven by a neoconservative agenda and the false promise of regime change - an approach that has only harmed US national security. The reinstatement of Chevron’s licence follows months of interdepartmental infighting that left the President’s Venezuela policy out of step with his broader doctrine of non-interference and pragmatic realism. This marks a clear pivot away from costly ideological crusades abroad and a renewed focus on core US interests. Chevron’s return to Venezuela is, first and foremost, a victory for American economic and energy security. Global instability and conflict in the Middle East have placed enormous strain on energy markets, driving volatility at home. Reopening access to Venezuelan oil, under American oversight, delivers a major strategic gain for US supply chains. Bloomberg has reported the deal could add more than 200,000 barrels per day to US refineries, much of it heavy crude that powers facilities across the Gulf Coast. The timing is critical. Summer brings a surge in demand as families travel, and business activity intensifies. The President has secured an immediate energy boost without the entanglements that often accompany deals with other major producers. Venezuela has already stockpiled the equipment required to resume pipeline operations. This decision also puts US national security at the forefront of hemispheric policy. Chevron’s presence allows the White House to reassert American commercial leadership in an energy market where China and Russia have been making inroads. The revocation of Chevron’s licence acted as an invitation for adversaries to deepen ties with Caracas and build an energy nexus hostile to American interests. The new authorisation, which may also cover European firms such as Eni and Repsol, ensures that America and its allies maintain preferential access to a critical supply source, while retaining influence over the Western Hemisphere’s energy future. It sends a clear message to adversaries: hostile interference in the Western Hemisphere will not be tolerated. Beyond oil, the agreement signals an opening for renewed American involvement in other important strategic sectors. Venezuela holds vast reserves of rare earths and critical minerals, resources that have increasingly become targets of Chinese and Russian investment. Reintroducing American capital and expertise in these sectors won’t just push back against adversaries but also bolster America’s manufacturing and high-value export markets. These are the outcomes of a regional strategy rooted in strategic calculation, not performative ideological purity. Trump’s decision directly undercuts Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s years-long fixation on regime change in Venezuela, a policy that has proven ineffective and contrary to American interests. Rubio has long worked with the Cuban-American congressional lobby in South Florida, using Venezuela policy as political theatre to appease voters hostile to the Maduro administration. But this approach has failed to produce any breakthrough. It has also contributed to increased migration, while denying American companies access to a valuable energy market. His grandstanding may resonate in narrow political circles, but it has done little for ordinary Americans. President Trump’s decision to proceed with the Chevron agreement marks a return to results-based foreign policy. The conflict between Rubio and the President’s special envoy, Richard Grenell, exposed a deeper tension between ideological legacy and pragmatic leadership. In this case, pragmatism prevailed - and rightly so. The recent release of American detainees from Venezuela, coupled with Caracas’s agreement to take back hundreds of its nationals held in El Salvador, offers a concrete example of how this pragmatism can deliver results. The administration’s move is not an endorsement of Maduro. It is an acceptance of reality. Regime change has failed. The costs have been high, the returns non-existent. It is time to deal with the world as it is, not as some wish it to be. By restoring Chevron’s licence, President Trump has signalled a return to realism. He has prioritised energy security, immigration enforcement, and American business, while rejecting the failed fantasies of toppling foreign governments. By Cyril Widdershoven for Oilprice.com