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The United States government announced on Tuesday that it will relax some of the sanctions imposed against the rulers and state institutions of Venezuela.
The Joe Biden administration will authorize the American oil company Chevron begin negotiations with the Venezuelan state-owned PDVSA, a senior US official who requested anonymity reported in a call with journalists.
“The Treasury, with the help of the Department of State, issued a limited license that authorizes Chevron to negotiate the terms of possible future activities in Venezuela. It does not allow the execution of any agreement with PDVSA or any other activity involving PDVSA or the Venezuela’s oil sector,” the official said.
“So fundamentally what they’re doing is letting people talk,” he added.
The sanctions were imposed by the Donald Trump administration starting in 2017 and included a ban on trading Venezuelan Treasury bonds in US financial markets or doing business with PDVSA. They also targeted Venezuelan officials, whose assets in the US were frozen.
Chevron is the only US oil company that maintains a presence in Venezuela, a country with the largest oil reserves in the world.
Oil has risen around the world in recent months, following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Weeks later, the US government began a dialogue with the government of Nicolás Maduro in Caracas and, as the president hinted, the problem of rising oil prices in the context of the conflict in Ukraine and the veto of Russian crude oil production was then on the table.
Tuesday’s measure, the US said, was decided in consultation with the Venezuelan opposition and seeks to encourage dialogue between the government and its political rivals.
“The US is taking a series of measures at the request of the interim Venezuelan government (represented by the opposition Juan Guaidó) and the Unitary Platform of opposition parties that negotiate with the Venezuelan regime, to support its decision to return to the table of negotiations in Mexico City,” the official said.
image source, Getty Images
Biden’s decision comes a day after the relaxation of Washington’s policy towards Cuba.
Guaidó proclaimed himself “president in charge” of Venezuela in 2019 and was recognized as such by more than 50 countries, although he never took power from Maduro. Two years later the European Union retireor the backupwhile the White House maintains recognition.
The Venezuelan government and opposition began a dialogue in Mexico in August last year at the request of a proposal from Norway, in a new attempt to find a solution to the political, economic and social crisis plaguing the South American country.
Reaction in Caracas
The Venezuelan government learned of the news through the media and then confirmed it, according to the vice president of that country, Delcy Rodríguez, on Twitter.
“Venezuela aspires that these decisions of the United States of America pave the way for the absolute lifting of the illegal sanctions that affect all our people“wrote the official.
Rodríguez said that the Biden administration “has authorized US and European oil companies to negotiate and restart operations in Venezuela.” The White House was more restrictive in its statements earlier.
“The Bolivarian government of Venezuela, attached to its deep democratic values, will tirelessly continue promoting fruitful dialogue in a national and international format,” added the vice president.
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Democratic Senator Robert Menéndez, chairman of the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee, questioned the decision made by the White House.
“Giving Maduro a handful of undeserved handouts so that his regime promises to sit down to negotiate is a strategy destined to failMenendez said in a statement.
The US concessions “ignore the cold, hard facts about the Maduro regime and its history of abusing negotiations to strengthen its political position,” he added.
“The Biden administration must refrain from lifting any additional sanctions until Maduro makes concrete concessions at the negotiating table.”
Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs Juan Gonzalez later noted that the uprising can be reversed if no progress is made in the negotiations in Mexico.
Republican Senator Marco Rubio, of Cuban descent, also criticized the US government’s move.
“Biden continues his effort to appease the anti-american communist dictators. Yesterday it was Cuba, now today Biden will announce the lifting of sanctions on the Maduro regime in Venezuela,” he wrote on Twitter.
“There is bipartisan opposition to the Biden plan. I urge my colleagues to pass my legislation to ban the import of crude oil from Venezuela. We cannot continue to allow Marxist sympathizers in the Biden administration to run US foreign policy.” Rubio added in a written statement.
The announcement comes after Washington’s relaxation of its policy towards Cuba, reported on Monday, which includes restoring commercial flights to several Cuban cities and suspending the limit on remittances.
“Cuba is facing an unprecedented humanitarian crisis, and our policy will continue to focus on empowering the Cuban people to help them create a future free from repression and economic suffering,” the Biden administration said in a statement.
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