The United States assured this Monday that “for now” it is not maintaining contacts or launching any plan to import Venezuelan oil. And he confirmed that he talked to Colombia to increase its supply of crude globally.
“It’s not something we’re actively talking about right now,” White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki said at her daily briefing.
Psaki thus responded to the question of whether the possibility of the United States relaxing its oil sanctions on Venezuela in order to import more crude from that country is ruled out, an idea that the White House had raised to stabilize oil prices.
That possibility sparked criticism from several lawmakers from both parties in the United States. And also the concern of Washington allies such as the president of Colombia, Iván Duque.
After meeting with US President Joe Biden on Thursday, Duque revealed that he offered Biden the supply of more Colombian oil to stabilize energy prices, as an alternative to Venezuelan crude.
Asked about it, Psaki confirmed on Monday that Biden spoke about this issue with Duque in the context of “global energy security” after the Russian invasion of Ukraine. She, however, assured that she did not have more details about any decision in this regard.
“We continue to talk to a number of growers about the importance of maintaining global supply. This is not just about supply in the United States, but about securing supply to the global market. And we appreciate our relationship with Colombia,” the spokeswoman said.
Chevron
As for the rumors that the US government has considered the possibility of granting the oil giant Chevron a special license to import oil from Venezuela, Psaki insisted that “for now” that purchase of Venezuelan crude is not under consideration.
On March 5, a high-level delegation from the United States visited the Venezuelan capital and met with Nicolás Maduro. According to the White House, it was the highest-ranking trip to Caracas in more than two decades.
The visit came in the throes of the invasion of Ukraine by Russia, an important ally of Venezuela. Among rumors that Biden was studying lifting part of the sanctions on the Venezuelan oil sector to contain energy prices.
The White House has not denied that it discussed this issue during the meeting with Maduro. But he has lowered expectations of that possibility after drawing criticism from several influential figures in the US Congress, including Democratic Senator Bob Menendez.
A senior US official, who requested anonymity, described the visit to Caracas last week as a one-off meeting. This by ensuring that right now “there are no conversations with the Maduro government.
The United States insists that the main topic it discussed with Maduro was the situation of the ten Americans imprisoned in Venezuela, two of whom were released shortly after the visit.