Eduardo González
The Ministers of Foreign Affairs and Economy, José Manuel Albares and Carlos Cuerpo, have called for “calm, discretion, and dialogue” following the decision by the US government of Donald Trump to revoke the permits of several oil companies, including the Spanish company Repsol, to export crude oil from Venezuela.
“We are exchanging information and analyzing this decision with the company,” Albares stated on the Telecinco program “La Mirada Crítica.” “We must not rush into anything until we know in detail what it means and how it could affect us,” continued the minister, who, precisely this Monday, spoke with Repsol CEO Josu Jon Imaz.
Therefore, Albares recommended “calm, discretion, and dialogue” in response to this measure, which “does not exclusively affect Repsol” as it also harms companies from other countries, including US companies operating in Venezuela. “Let no one have the slightest doubt that the Spanish Government will always defend the interests of Repsol and any Spanish company that needs it around the world.”
For his part, Economy Minister Carlos Cuerpo called for “prudence” and assured that “dialogue remains open” and that an agreement between the Donald Trump administration and Repsol is still possible that would allow the Spanish oil company to maintain its operations in Venezuela.
The Donald Trump administration has notified the partners of the Venezuelan state oil company PDVSA, which includes Repsol, that their permits to export crude oil and derivatives from the Latin American country have been canceled.
In this regard, Josu Jon Imaz stated this Monday at the “Wake Up Spain” forum, organized by the newspaper “El Español,” that the company maintains a “direct relationship” and “fluid dialogue” with the United States administration and positively valued “all the support” it is receiving from the government, particularly the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
“We’ll see if we’re able to find mechanisms that will allow us to continue our activities in that country, which has never been easy,” explained Imaz, who also asserted that Repsol has “always” acted within the framework of “Venezuelan legislation” and international law and, over the past few years, has worked “very closely” with the US government “with complete transparency and collaboration” and “always” respecting the scope of “international legislation regarding sanctions.”
Meanwhile, the European Commission declared this Monday that it will not respond to Trump’s decision until it has a “complete picture” of the scope of other measures that Washington is preparing to announce this week, referring to the “reciprocal tariffs” on VAT mentioned by the US administration.
The spokesperson for the Popular Party (PP) in Congress, Miguel Tellado, expressed his hope on Monday that Repsol could continue operating in Venezuela, and the party’s leader, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, pledged to “defend” Spain’s interests “with caution.”
