Vance Donor Reportedly Helped Secure Venezuela Oil Licenses

Energy Secretary Chris Wright called Vitol trader John Addison shortly after U.S. forces captured Nicolás Maduro, asking whether the company would market Venezuelan crude; Vitol and rival Trafigura soon received special licenses without competitive bidding. Addison had donated $300,000 to a committee supporting JD Vance’s 2022 Senate campaign, and he said Vance had vouched for him to Wright, a claim a U.S. official also confirmed. Reuters reporting also described a possible Montana meeting between Vance and Addison shortly before the operation, where Venezuelan oil sales may have been discussed; both deny that the meeting occurred. The Energy Department said Vitol was selected for its commercial standing, while the companies denied advance knowledge of the operation. An energy finance expert estimated the traders could earn $3 to $3.50 per barrel, potentially amounting to hundreds of millions of dollars, and congressional Democrats have raised questions about how the firms secured the licenses and who knew about the plans.