(Bloomberg) -- Venezuela will reinvest the debt it owes to Chevron Corp. after US President Donald Trump gave the oil giant one month to stop producing oil in the South American nation.

“We’re being banned from paying our debt to Chevron and now that money will be invested in the oil industry,” National Assembly head Jorge Rodríguez said on Thursday. “This is nothing but the US shooting itself in the foot.”

Earlier this week the US Treasury set an April 3 deadline for Chevron to wrap up operations in the country, marking an intensification of US restrictions on Venezuela after a contested election that extended Nicolás Maduro’s reign and a sweeping crackdown on his political opponents. The company previously had a waiver to produce and sell Venezuelan oil.

Chevron is the only major US oil producer operating in Venezuela and was producing more than 200,000 barrels a day from its share of ventures in the country as of mid-2024. The company’s efforts in Venezuela were primarily focused on repairing wells and facilities and recouping debt owed by the government-owned oil company.

“Phones haven’t stopped ringing from all over the planet,” Rodríguez said. “Traders and business people are desperate to replace the role Chevron had.”