Disney suspends Venezuelan workers after protected status revoked
By AFP
May 22, 2025
Disney has said the Venezuelan employees will be on leave without pay but with benefits 'to ensure they are not in violation of the law' - Copyright AFP FABRICE COFFRINI
Entertainment giant Disney has placed at least 45 Venezuelan employees on unpaid leave, the company told AFP Thursday, following the US Supreme Court’s decision to allow the revocation of a special legal status that shielded them from deportation.
Shortly after returning to office, President Donald Trump revoked temporary protected status (TPS) for Venezuelan nationals, which shields foreign citizens from deportation who cannot safely return home — affecting about 350,000 people.
The US Supreme Court has allowed that revocation to stand pending an appeal in a lower court.
“As we sort out the complexities of this situation, we have placed affected employees on leave with benefits to ensure they are not in violation of the law,” a spokesperson for Disney said in a statement, however noting the leave is “unpaid.”
“We are committed to protecting the health, safety, and well-being of all our employees who may be navigating changing immigration policies and how they could impact them or their families,” the statement added.
The entertainment giant informed workers placed on leave that their employment will be terminated if they do not find an alternate work permit within 30 days, according to the Miami Herald.
It was not immediately clear where all of the employees worked, but the newspaper said it had spoken to several who work at Disney World in Orlando.
One Venezuelan Disney employee, a woman in her 40s, told the Herald she was “very distressed” by the suspension.
“We have bills, we just renewed our apartment lease, my son goes to college,” she told the publication.
Former president Joe Biden had extended TPS for Venezuelans for 18 months just days before Trump returned to the White House in January, citing ongoing crises in the South American country under longtime ruler Nicolas Maduro.
But Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem moved to revoke the protections, leading to the ensuing court battle.
By AFP
May 22, 2025
Disney has said the Venezuelan employees will be on leave without pay but with benefits 'to ensure they are not in violation of the law' - Copyright AFP FABRICE COFFRINI
Entertainment giant Disney has placed at least 45 Venezuelan employees on unpaid leave, the company told AFP Thursday, following the US Supreme Court’s decision to allow the revocation of a special legal status that shielded them from deportation.
Shortly after returning to office, President Donald Trump revoked temporary protected status (TPS) for Venezuelan nationals, which shields foreign citizens from deportation who cannot safely return home — affecting about 350,000 people.
The US Supreme Court has allowed that revocation to stand pending an appeal in a lower court.
“As we sort out the complexities of this situation, we have placed affected employees on leave with benefits to ensure they are not in violation of the law,” a spokesperson for Disney said in a statement, however noting the leave is “unpaid.”
“We are committed to protecting the health, safety, and well-being of all our employees who may be navigating changing immigration policies and how they could impact them or their families,” the statement added.
The entertainment giant informed workers placed on leave that their employment will be terminated if they do not find an alternate work permit within 30 days, according to the Miami Herald.
It was not immediately clear where all of the employees worked, but the newspaper said it had spoken to several who work at Disney World in Orlando.
One Venezuelan Disney employee, a woman in her 40s, told the Herald she was “very distressed” by the suspension.
“We have bills, we just renewed our apartment lease, my son goes to college,” she told the publication.
Former president Joe Biden had extended TPS for Venezuelans for 18 months just days before Trump returned to the White House in January, citing ongoing crises in the South American country under longtime ruler Nicolas Maduro.
But Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem moved to revoke the protections, leading to the ensuing court battle.
By AFP
May 22, 2025
Secretary of State Marco Rubio says Chevron must wrap up operations in Venezuela, without exception - Copyright AFP/File
Pedro MATTEY
The US State Department said Thursday that Chevron must wrap up operations in Venezuela next week as scheduled, contradicting an envoy who told a podcast differently after Caracas freed an American.
President Donald Trump’s administration has canceled an exemption in sanctions on Venezuela, run by leftist Nicolas Maduro, that had been granted by former president Joe Biden under a previous deal.
Ric Grenell, a Trump loyalist who holds a broad role of “special presidential envoy for special missions,” on Tuesday flew back to the United States with a freed US military veteran, Joe St. Clair, who had been detained in Venezuela since November.
Grenell, who secured St. Clair’s release in talks in Antigua, said after his return to Washington that Trump believed in “engagement.”
Asked in an interview with pro-Trump media personality Steve Bannon about Chevron, Grenell said, “President Trump authorized that extension if we were able to get some progress, if we were able to build some confidence.”
“We were able to do that today. So that extension will be granted,” Grenell told Bannon’s “War Room” podcast.
“We want to put America first and do what’s best for America. That means making sure that the Chinese do not take the Venezuelan oil,” he said.
But US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who is also Trump’s national security advisor, promptly wrote on X late Wednesday: “The pro-Maduro Biden oil license in Venezuela will expire as scheduled next Tuesday May 27th.”
Asked about the contradicting messages, State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce said Rubio was “making it clear that that license is going to expire.”
“There’s no confusion. I think many people, on every issue, can have a lot of opinions, but I think clearly who we look to are the people who have the power to have the impact and who make the decision,” Bruce said.
Rubio, a Cuban-American and former senator from Florida, is a vociferous opponent of Latin American leftists including in Venezuela and Cuba.
Maduro is angling to sweep power in parliamentary and regional elections on Sunday, 10 months after his disputed re-election. Only a handful of countries, including longtime allies Russia and Cuba, have recognized the 62-year-old’s presidency.
Grenell, early in Trump’s term, traveled to Venezuela which agreed to send planes to bring back undocumented migrants, a key Trump priority.
The deal drew outrage from Florida Republicans in the narrowly divided House of Representatives who instead want more robust support for Venezuela’s democratic opposition.
The US State Department said Thursday that Chevron must wrap up operations in Venezuela next week as scheduled, contradicting an envoy who told a podcast differently after Caracas freed an American.
President Donald Trump’s administration has canceled an exemption in sanctions on Venezuela, run by leftist Nicolas Maduro, that had been granted by former president Joe Biden under a previous deal.
Ric Grenell, a Trump loyalist who holds a broad role of “special presidential envoy for special missions,” on Tuesday flew back to the United States with a freed US military veteran, Joe St. Clair, who had been detained in Venezuela since November.
Grenell, who secured St. Clair’s release in talks in Antigua, said after his return to Washington that Trump believed in “engagement.”
Asked in an interview with pro-Trump media personality Steve Bannon about Chevron, Grenell said, “President Trump authorized that extension if we were able to get some progress, if we were able to build some confidence.”
“We were able to do that today. So that extension will be granted,” Grenell told Bannon’s “War Room” podcast.
“We want to put America first and do what’s best for America. That means making sure that the Chinese do not take the Venezuelan oil,” he said.
But US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who is also Trump’s national security advisor, promptly wrote on X late Wednesday: “The pro-Maduro Biden oil license in Venezuela will expire as scheduled next Tuesday May 27th.”
Asked about the contradicting messages, State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce said Rubio was “making it clear that that license is going to expire.”
“There’s no confusion. I think many people, on every issue, can have a lot of opinions, but I think clearly who we look to are the people who have the power to have the impact and who make the decision,” Bruce said.
Rubio, a Cuban-American and former senator from Florida, is a vociferous opponent of Latin American leftists including in Venezuela and Cuba.
Maduro is angling to sweep power in parliamentary and regional elections on Sunday, 10 months after his disputed re-election. Only a handful of countries, including longtime allies Russia and Cuba, have recognized the 62-year-old’s presidency.
Grenell, early in Trump’s term, traveled to Venezuela which agreed to send planes to bring back undocumented migrants, a key Trump priority.
The deal drew outrage from Florida Republicans in the narrowly divided House of Representatives who instead want more robust support for Venezuela’s democratic opposition.
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