President Donald Trump’s special envoy to Venezuela, Richard Grenell, is under scrutiny after taking a private jet to Antigua without approval to retrieve a detained American veteran.
Grenell flew to pick up Air Force veteran Joe St. Clair, who had been held by Venezuela’s Nicolás Maduro for six months.
He announced the rescue Tuesday with a photo of him and St. Clair aboard a jet bound for Washington, D.C.
An administration official told The Post that Grenell’s trip was not cleared by the president or White House staff.
“He blindsided the president and the White House,” the source said.
Flight records show the aircraft is registered to Bill Stone, CEO of SS&C Technologies, based in Windsor, Connecticut.
Attempts to contact Stone for comment were not immediately successful as of Friday, per the New York Post.
Sources inside the administration suspect Grenell’s mission was designed to force Trump’s hand on renewing Chevron’s Venezuelan oil import license.
That license is set to expire on May 27, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio confirmed this deadline again Wednesday on X.
The incident caused tension in Congress, with three South Florida Republicans threatening to vote against Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” if the license were extended.
Reps. Mario Díaz-Balart, María Elvira Salazar, and Carlos Giménez initially withheld support, according to multiple sources.
The bill passed narrowly on Friday, 215–214, with all three eventually voting in favor.
Back in February, Trump had revoked all U.S. business licenses related to Venezuela, citing Maduro’s illegitimate election and failure to meet deportation agreements.
Trump wrote on Truth Social on February 26 that Biden’s concessions to Maduro were being reversed due to noncompliance on oil and electoral promises.
In March, Trump issued an executive order imposing a 25% tariff on all nations importing Venezuelan oil.
Before his trip, Grenell appeared on Steve Bannon’s “War Room” podcast and claimed Trump would approve a 60-day extension of Chevron’s license if Maduro cooperated.
Grenell cited St. Clair’s release as the kind of progress that could trigger the extension, asserting it was “authorized” by Trump.
He also promoted Chevron’s role in countering Chinese influence in Venezuela, calling it a move to “put America first.”
However, his remarks created confusion, leading reporters to press the State Department for clarification.
Spokeswoman Tammy Bruce reiterated that Secretary Rubio and President Trump control the administration’s stance, not individual envoys.
She said the administration was clear that the Chevron license would expire on schedule unless otherwise directed by official policy.
A State Department statement Wednesday said Biden-era licenses enriched Maduro’s regime and that cutting them off aligns with Trump’s directive.
The statement emphasized that the policy denies funding to a regime that “stole elections, pillaged from its people, and colluded with our enemies.”
