SPAIN has vowed to defend Repsol after it emerged Donald Trump is set to revoke its operating licence in Venezuela.
Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares told Telecinco on Monday that he and the CEO of Repsol are ‘analysing the decision and discussing it.’
Trump’s planned trade tariffs on the EU have also raised alarms among other sectors in Spain, particularly agriculture and wine.
Oil companies from France (Maurel et Prom) and Italy (Eni) said over the weekend that they had been notified by the US government that their Venezuela licences were revoked, reports Reuters.
Albares added: ‘We should not get ahead of ourselves until we know the details about the decision, what it means and what its impact will be, and how much room there is for dialogue to resolve differences or clarify the doubts the U.S. administration may have.’
The move by Trump seems to be part of a trend of reversing the policies of his predecessor Joe Biden.
Biden had allowed individual companies to secure oil from Venezuela to be used in refineries in Spain and a whole host of other countries.
The permissions were granted as exceptions to the sanctions being applied on the country by the US.
Venezuela has been ruled by Nicolas Maduro since 2013, when the-then Vice President assumed the presidency following the death of Hugo Chavez.
However, his country’s economy rapidly declined and has become wrought with corruption and claims of rigged elections.
In January, Maduro was sworn in for his third term after claiming victory at last year’s general election, which international observers at the Human Rights Foundation branded ‘blatant electoral fraud’.
