On the Q2 call two years later, when asked about the upcoming Presidential election, Wirth assured investors “we remain apolitical in Venezuela and in other countries”.
Although the US government’s special license supposedly hinged on progress towards free and fair elections, it has not been revoked in the wake of the most recent election.
Venezuela’s dictator, sponsored by oil
Despite Wirth’s apparent attempts to rise above the political fray, a quick look at the numbers shows Chevron’s centrality to the Venezuelan government’s bottom line.
An expert estimates that the joint venture through which Chevron operates in Venezuela generates almost one third of the government’s total oil income – providing much-needed financial support to Maduro’s violent dictatorship.
Moreover, lack of transparency and endemic corruption within Venezuela’s oil sector means it’s difficult to account for just how much oil money Maduro’s government is capturing and how it is being spent.
All of this is bad enough, but oil production in Venezuela has caused enormous damage to the natural environment. Over the last two decades repeated oil spills, especially in coastal areas, have devastated local marine biodiversity and created hazardous conditions for fishermen who haul in catches soaked in oil.
In 2023, Venezuela also ranked in the top five countries worldwide in the hazardous practice of gas-flaring which releases dangerous pollution into the atmosphere.
Chevron’s operations in Venezuela illustrate a broader theme: that fossil fuels are inherently destructive. Their extraction can harm surrounding communities, their sale funds the coffers of repressive regimes, and their combustion is the primary driver behind the devastating impacts of the climate crisis.
Our addiction to fossil fuels leads governments to abandon their principles, prioritizing oil and gas over human rights and democratic norms.
Chevron’s role in propping up Maduro’s regime in pursuit of oil profits illustrates why we urgently need to leave fossil fuels in the ground: to stop putting money in the pockets of oil dictators, and to end climate breakdown.
