Biden under fire for shutting down US oil production, urged to impose sanctions on Venezuela

FIRST ON FOX: A group of apical Senate Republican leaders is urging President Biden to artifact lipid sanctions alleviation for nan Venezuelan government, an authoritarian authorities which continues to oppress its opponents. 

The 7 lawmakers, led by Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, sent a missive to nan president Friday, calling connected him to cancel nan alleged General License 44, which is group to travel up for renewal later this week. They based on that Venezuela's authorities has grounded to meet cardinal requirements related to ensuring adjacent elections that it agreed to erstwhile nan Biden management issued nan six-month licence past year.

"History has proven clip and clip again that appeasing dictators does not work. We powerfully impulse you to reinstate and afloat enforce each U.S. sanctions connected nan [Nicolás] Maduro regime," they wrote. "We must not cede American leverage by lifting U.S. sanctions while nan Maduro authorities deliberately disregards its obligations."

"If nan U.S. fails to return a reliable stance connected ensuring free and adjacent elections are held successful Venezuela, nan prospects of a antiauthoritarian Venezuela will proceed to diminish, which will further embolden authoritarian aggressors specified arsenic nan People’s Republic of China, Iran, and Russia," nan lawmakers continued.

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The Biden management is expected to rumor a determination connected sanctions alleviation for nan Venezuelan lipid assemblage this week. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)

In October, Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro signed an statement pinch nan nation's guidance leaders, agreeing to freer elections arsenic portion of a woody successful which nan U.S. Treasury Department eased sanctions connected nan South American country's cardinal lipid sector. 

However, nan Maduro authorities almost immediately began taking actions successful evident usurpation of nan deal, cracking down connected nan guidance and imprisoning governmental opponents up of Venezuela's upcoming statesmanlike predetermination slated for July 2024. The State Department said successful October it would not renew nan General License 44 absent advancement by nan Venezuelan government.

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The October statement broadly authorized lipid and state transactions pinch Venezuela and came a twelvemonth aft nan Biden management granted a abstracted licence for California-based power patient Chevron to proceed drilling successful Venezuela. According to national data, U.S. lipid imports from Venezuela person spiked from zero barrels successful December 2022 to astir 5 cardinal barrels successful January.

Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, speaks astatine a proceeding connected Feb. 3, 2021. (Brandon Bell-Pool/Getty Images)

In 2019, nan Trump management imposed dense sanctions connected nan nation's lipid manufacture aft a conflict arose betwixt Maduro and guidance leader Juan Guaido complete nan 2018 statesmanlike election. Those sanctions led to a precipitous autumn disconnected successful U.S. imports of Venezuelan oil.

In a connection connected Tuesday to Fox News Digital, Sullivan, who serves arsenic nan ranking personnel connected nan Senate Armed Services Readiness and Management Support Subcommittee, expressed heavy interest pinch Biden – some perchance for maintaining sanctions alleviation for Venezuela and caller actions his management has taken to curb home production.

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"Joe Biden needs to aftermath nan hellhole up and extremity appeasing dictators and nan eco-colonialists – fast," he said. "The world is connected occurrence and Biden is still focused connected appeasing his astir far-left extremist supporters astatine nan disbursal of America’s nationalist security."

Sullivan noted that nan Department of nan Interior is expected to soon finalize regulations blocking disconnected 13 cardinal acres of onshore crossed nan National Petroleum Reserve, an area successful North Slope Borough, Alaska, group speech by Congress for assets development. Bloomberg reported past week nan agency is expected to finalize those rules this week.

Interior Secretary Deb Haaland is expected to finalize a scheme to artifact disconnected half of nan National Petroleum Reserve successful Alaska from early drilling projects. (Shannon Finney/Getty Images)

"The NPR-A is 1 of nan world’s astir prolific lipid basins and Biden wants to fastener up much than half of it. Literally, during nan aforesaid week, his management is expected to renew their lifted lipid sanctions for nan Maduro dictatorship successful Venezuela," Sullivan said.

"Alaska, much than immoderate different state, has taken nan brunt of this administration’s grounded power policy," he continued. "This rule, erstwhile finalized, is connected way to beryllium nan 61st action by his management targeting Alaska. Like galore others, it ignores nan laws connected nan books and has been done without existent consultation of impacted Alaska Native communities."

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Oil pipelines agelong crossed nan scenery extracurricular Nuiqsut, Alaska, wherever ConocoPhillips operates nan Alpine Field connected May 28, 2019. (Bonnie Jo Mount/The Washington Post via Getty Images)

Calls placed to The White House were not returned astatine property time. 

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Joining Sullivan successful penning nan missive to Biden were Republican Sens. James Risch of Idaho, John Barrasso of Wyoming, Bill Hagerty of Tennessee, Pete Ricketts of Nebraska and Marco Rubio and Rick Scott of Florida.