Rep. Maria Salazar, R-Fla., blasted the Biden administration over their lack of enforcement of oil sanctions during a time of deep political corruption in Venezuela during a House Foreign Affairs subcommittee hearing on Friday.
Salazar chaired the committee meetings that analyzed the ongoing crisis in Venezuela and the United States' response to President Nicolás Maduro's attempts to circumvent his country's elections on July 28.
Maduro has been accused of manipulating voting data via the National Electoral Council, which he controls, to declare himself the winner even though exit polls showed his opponent, Edmundo González Urrutia, received well over 60% of the vote.
Salazar opened her statement by saying it was one of the most important hearings she has done during her time in Congress and added that Friday's hearing would be the only such investigation by the U.S. government. She started by blasting American and European oil producers for increasing their output during a time of political unrest and noted that "as oppression goes up, so does the desire of companies to do business with Maduro."
Kevin K. Sullivan, the former ambassador to Venezuela, took the brunt of Salazar's attacks accusing him of sending conciliatory messages to the South American dictator as the Biden administration eased oil sanctions in 2022.
"You're sending a very weak message to Maduro," said Salazar, who serves as chair of the subcommittee on Western Hemisphere. "I'm sure they're analyzing this hearing to the T."
Sullivan is currently the State Department's deputy assistant secretary for Brazil Southern Cone and Andean Affairs.
"Chevron, Repsol, Eni and Maurel [& Prom], blood is on your hands, and it will be on yours, the Biden administration, and on us, the United States Congress, if we do not act today," she said.
"Shame on them," she added.
The congresswoman from Florida pressed Sullivan further stating that recognizing Urrutia is not sufficient, and a full reinstatement of oil sanctions is required for Maduro to feel the pressure.
Salazar noted the hundreds of millions of dollars each of the oil companies made in the month of August alone.
"Sir, don't you understand that Maduro is laughing at us?" Salazar asked Sullivan in response. "We are the leaders."
James Morley III ✉
James Morley III is a writer with more than two decades of experience in entertainment, travel, technology, and science and nature.
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