Venezuela

Rubio and Grenell Clash Over Venezuela Policy

Published MAY 25 2025

Story

Above: Donald Trump and Marco Rubio attend a cabinet meeting in the White House on April 10, 2025. Image credit: Brendan Smialowski/Contributor/AFP via Getty Images

The Facts

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and President Donald Trump's envoy for special missions, Richard Grenell, clashed over an apparent presidential reversal of sanctions on Venezuela and giving concessions to Venezuela's President Nicolás Maduro.
The Washington Post
Foreign Policy
This comes after Grenell secretly visited Antigua and Barbuda to meet with Venezuelan authorities and successfully negotiate the release of Joe St. Clair, a 33-year-old U.S. Air Force veteran arrested on suspicion of espionage after entering Venezuela last fall, and his return to the U.S.
Newsmax
teleSUR English
The New York Post reported that Grenell took a private jet to Antigua without prior authorization, while administration sources claimed that he blindsided Trump in an alleged last-minute attempt to put pressure for an extension of Chevron's license to operate in Venezuela.
New York Post
The New York Times
Grenell promised Caracas a 60-day extension of the oil license set to expire on Tuesday in exchange for the release of St. Clair, even telling Steve Bannon's War Room podcast that "that extension [would] be granted. " However, Rubio later announced that the sanctions waiver would expire on May 27.
Bloomberg.com
The Miami Herald
The Washington Post
The announcement followed a meeting between Rubio and Trump in the Oval Office, with Rep. Carlos Giménez (R-Fla.) called in by phone and Deputy White House Chief of Staff James Blair as a constant presence, in which the president became aware that he would have to let the license expire to salvage his "One Big Beautiful Bill."
Axios
The Washington Post
As Trump's special envoy, Grenell met with Maduro in January, before Rubio's first trip to Latin America as state secretary, and is the administration's point man for efforts to get Venezuela to accept deportees. However, tensions between them go beyond Venezuela.
Bloomberg.com
New York Post

Sources Split

LEFT

CENTER

RIGHT

ESTAB
CRIT

CENTER

PRO
ESTAB

The Spin

Narrative A

The maximum pressure approach toward Venezuela represents the only effective strategy for dealing with Maduro's authoritarian regime. If the U.S. were to extend Chevron's license, the Trump administration would effectively legitimize and financially enable an illegitimate narco-dictator. Hopefully, Trump listened to Secretary Marco Rubio and decided to let the license expire in a clear message of support to Venezuela's democratic opposition.

The Wall Street Journal

Narrative B

It's a fact that U.S. strategic interests are far better served when negotiating with Venezuela than when adopting maximum-pressure policies that only benefit China, so Chevron's license should have been extended. Special envoy Grenell has achieved tangible results through engagement, including the release of hostages and deportation flights for migrants. Still, Marco Rubio and three lawmakers have now hijacked the U.S. policy on Venezuela.

Foreign Policy