HENDERSON, Nevada: President Donald Trump held a Nevada campaign rally at an indoor venue on Sunday despite public health professionals’ warnings against large indoor gatherings during the coronavirus pandemic.
Trump, a Republican, railed against his Democratic rival, former Vice President Joe Biden, suggesting he was taking drugs and was soft on crime.
“Biden wants to appease domestic terrorists and my plan is to arrest domestic terrorists,” Trump said to an enthusiastic crowd. “If Biden wins, the mob wins.”
People in the crowd were seated close together and many did not wear masks.
Biden has criticized Trump for holding campaign events that put people at risk of contracting the coronavirus, which has killed more than 194,000 people in the United States.
Trump played down the virus in its early stages and has alternately embraced and disregarded advice from public health experts, who encourage mask-wearing and maintaining social distance to prevent its spread.
The president’s campaign portrayed the rally at a large warehouse in Henderson as an opportunity for supporters to exercise their rights to peaceful assembly under the US Constitution’s First Amendment.
“If you can join tens of thousands of people protesting in the streets, gamble in a casino, or burn down small businesses in riots, you can gather peacefully under the First Amendment to hear from the president of the United States,” spokesman Tim Murtaugh said in a statement.
Participants were to have temperatures taken before entry and be given a mask they would be encouraged to wear, the campaign said.
“I think we’re relatively safe here. I brought a mask but I haven’t felt the need to wear it,” said Ronda Livingston, 64. “I’m not worried about it.”
Trump, who is trailing Biden in national polls and in Nevada, has stepped up the frequency of his rallies in recent weeks, but has held most of them at outdoor venues or in large open airplane hangars to help minimize risk.
Biden has criticized Trump sharply for his response to the virus and promised a comprehensive strategy to fight the pandemic if he succeeds Trump in the White House.
Trump is in the middle of a western swing that will include a campaign stop in Arizona and a visit to California on Monday to be briefed about the wildfires devastating the west coast.
Trump has knocked Biden for doing fewer events and traveling less than he in the run-up to the Nov. 3 election.
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Trump holds campaign rally indoors despite coronavirus concerns
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Trump holds campaign rally indoors despite coronavirus concerns
- Trump played down the virus in its early stages and has alternately embraced and disregarded advice from public health experts
- Trump has knocked Biden for doing fewer events and traveling less than he in the run-up to the Nov. 3 election
US allows oil majors to broadly operate in Venezuela, new energy investments
- Treasury Department issues general license allowing Chevron, BP, Eni, Shell and Repsol to operate oil and gas operations in Venezuela
- Move is the most significant relaxation of sanctions on Venezuela since US forces captured and removed President Nicolas Maduro
WASHINGTON: The US eased sanctions on Venezuela’s energy sector on Friday, issuing two general licenses that allow global energy companies to operate oil and gas projects in the OPEC member and for other companies to negotiate contracts to bring in fresh investments. The move was the most significant relaxation of sanctions on Venezuela since US forces captured and removed President Nicolas Maduro last month.
The Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control issued a general license allowing Chevron, BP, Eni, Shell and Repsol to operate oil and gas operations in Venezuela. Those companies still have offices in the country and stakes in projects, and are among the main partners of state-run company PDVSA.
The authorization for the oil majors’ operations requires payments for royalties and Venezuelan taxes to go through the US-controlled Foreign Government Deposit Fund.
The other license allows companies around the world to enter contracts with PDVSA for new investments in Venezuelan oil and gas. The contracts are contingent on separate permits from OFAC.
The authorization does not allow transactions with companies in Russia, Iran, or China or entities owned or controlled by joint ventures with people in those countries.
The licenses “invite American and other aligned companies to play a constructive role in supporting economic recovery and responsible investment, ” the US State Department said in a release. Additional authorizations may be issued “as necessary,” it said.
A spokesperson for Chevron, the only US oil firm currently operating in Venezuela, said the company welcomed the new licenses.
“The new General Licenses, coupled with recent changes in Venezuela’s Hydrocarbons Law, are important steps toward enabling the further development of Venezuela’s resources for its people and for advancing regional energy security,” the spokesperson said in a statement.
Eni said it is assessing the opportunities in Venezuela that the authorization opens up.
Oil law reform
The US licenses follow a sweeping reform of Venezuela’s main oil law approved last month, which grants autonomy for foreign oil and gas producers to operate, export and cash sale proceeds under existing joint ventures with PDVSA or through a new production-sharing contract model.
The US has had sanctions on Venezuela since 2019 when President Donald Trump imposed them during his first administration. Trump is now seeking $100 billion in investments by energy companies in Venezuela’s oil and gas sector. US Energy Secretary Chris Wright said on Thursday, during his second day of a trip to Venezuela, that oil sales from the country since Maduro’s capture have hit $1 billion and would hit another $5 billion in months.
Wright said the US will control the proceeds from the sales until Venezuela stands up a “representative government.” Since last month, the Treasury issued several other general licenses to facilitate oil exports, storage, imports and sales from Venezuela. It also authorized the provision of US goods, technology, software or services for the exploration, development or production of oil and gas in Venezuela.
The Venezuelan government expropriated assets of Exxon Mobil and ConocoPhillips in 2007 under then-President Hugo Chavez. The Trump administration is trying to get those companies to invest in Venezuela as well. At a meeting at the White House with Trump last month, Exxon Mobil CEO Darren Woods said Venezuela was “uninvestable” at the moment.
Wright said on Thursday that Exxon, which no longer has an office in Venezuela, is in talks with the government there and gathering data about the oil sector. Exxon did not immediately comment.
The Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control issued a general license allowing Chevron, BP, Eni, Shell and Repsol to operate oil and gas operations in Venezuela. Those companies still have offices in the country and stakes in projects, and are among the main partners of state-run company PDVSA.
The authorization for the oil majors’ operations requires payments for royalties and Venezuelan taxes to go through the US-controlled Foreign Government Deposit Fund.
The other license allows companies around the world to enter contracts with PDVSA for new investments in Venezuelan oil and gas. The contracts are contingent on separate permits from OFAC.
The authorization does not allow transactions with companies in Russia, Iran, or China or entities owned or controlled by joint ventures with people in those countries.
The licenses “invite American and other aligned companies to play a constructive role in supporting economic recovery and responsible investment, ” the US State Department said in a release. Additional authorizations may be issued “as necessary,” it said.
A spokesperson for Chevron, the only US oil firm currently operating in Venezuela, said the company welcomed the new licenses.
“The new General Licenses, coupled with recent changes in Venezuela’s Hydrocarbons Law, are important steps toward enabling the further development of Venezuela’s resources for its people and for advancing regional energy security,” the spokesperson said in a statement.
Eni said it is assessing the opportunities in Venezuela that the authorization opens up.
Oil law reform
The US licenses follow a sweeping reform of Venezuela’s main oil law approved last month, which grants autonomy for foreign oil and gas producers to operate, export and cash sale proceeds under existing joint ventures with PDVSA or through a new production-sharing contract model.
The US has had sanctions on Venezuela since 2019 when President Donald Trump imposed them during his first administration. Trump is now seeking $100 billion in investments by energy companies in Venezuela’s oil and gas sector. US Energy Secretary Chris Wright said on Thursday, during his second day of a trip to Venezuela, that oil sales from the country since Maduro’s capture have hit $1 billion and would hit another $5 billion in months.
Wright said the US will control the proceeds from the sales until Venezuela stands up a “representative government.” Since last month, the Treasury issued several other general licenses to facilitate oil exports, storage, imports and sales from Venezuela. It also authorized the provision of US goods, technology, software or services for the exploration, development or production of oil and gas in Venezuela.
The Venezuelan government expropriated assets of Exxon Mobil and ConocoPhillips in 2007 under then-President Hugo Chavez. The Trump administration is trying to get those companies to invest in Venezuela as well. At a meeting at the White House with Trump last month, Exxon Mobil CEO Darren Woods said Venezuela was “uninvestable” at the moment.
Wright said on Thursday that Exxon, which no longer has an office in Venezuela, is in talks with the government there and gathering data about the oil sector. Exxon did not immediately comment.
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