Press Releases

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (FL-25), co-chair of the Congressional Venezuela Democracy Caucus introduced the bipartisan Revoke Exemptions for Venezuelan Oil to Curb Autocratic Repression Act, or REVOCAR Act, as an amendment to the 2025 National Defense Authorization Act, or NDAA.

The REVOCAR Act would prohibit new and existing licenses for companies to transact with Venezuela's state oil company, which provides revenue for the Maduro regime's crimes against humanity. In order to waive this prohibition, the President would need to cite a vital national security interest as well as report to Congress how more oil revenue for the Maduro regime would impact its ability to brutally repress Venezuelans, cling to power, and undermine U.S. security. It was initially introduced in the 119th Congress by Reps. Wasserman Schultz and Salazar.

“American efforts to support democracy and punish repression in Venezuela have been far too slow. But now President Trump is openly paying off Maduro’s criminal regime for their compliance in his mass deportation of law-abiding Venezuelan immigrants,” said Wasserman Schultz. “Instead of cutting off Maduro’s cashflow and supporting the democratic opposition, the Trump Administration is cutting democracy assistance and propping up this Putin-backed narco-regime. I hope Republicans and Democrats join me in correcting this grave mistake.”

The REVOCAR Act would prohibit U.S. persons and entities from engaging in transactions with PdVSA, Venezuela’s regime-controlled energy company, eliminating General Licenses issued by the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) that allow certain companies to do business with the Maduro regime. These prohibitions would extend for three years or until the President certifies that a democratic transfer of power to Venezuelan president-elect Edmundo González has taken place. 

On July 28, 2024, more than 10 million citizens of Venezuela voted in a presidential election in which meticulously documented and publicized data from credible election monitors clearly and convincingly showed that opposition candidate Edmundo Gonzalez received more than two-thirds of the votes against the regime of Nicolas Maduro. The Maduro regime has refused to respect the overwhelming choice of the people of Venezuela and subsequently arrested and abused thousands of innocent citizens of Venezuela, including children, for peaceful political participation.

The full text of the amendment can be found here.

###