The government of USA (USA), under the command of the Democrat Joe Bidentook a turn in the policy towards Venezuela by easing some of its sanctions to the oil country. Although he still recognizes Juan Guaidó as interim president, he changed course.
According to a high-ranking US official, who was in charge of announcing it to the press, they seek to promote negotiations between the Venezuelan Executive that heads Nicholas Maduro and the opposition, now unified in a Unitary Platform.
“USA is carrying out a series of measures at the request of the Venezuelan interim government and the Unitary Platform of the opposition parties, dialoguing with the Venezuelan regime to support its decision to return to the negotiating table in Mexico City,” he said.
The US has stated that, although Chevron is now authorized to negotiate with the state-owned PDVSA, this measure will not generate income for the Venezuelan state, controlled by Maduro.
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Venezuelan Executive Vice President Delcy Rodríguez confirmed on Twitter that the US “has authorized US and European oil companies to negotiate and restart operations in Venezuela”.
Through a phone call, the source emphasized that “the United States is doing this in response to the actions that are being carried out in the talks that are taking place between the regime and the interim government in the Unitary Platform.”
“It is not something that the United States has participated in. It has been a conversation with them and they have come to ask us to take these actions,” he added.
Why is the United States relaxing sanctions against Venezuela?
María Puerta, professor of US government in Florida, explained to La República that the sanctions “are a policy inherited from the Donald Trump administration with which Biden did not fully agree.”
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“If the intention is to get the parties to sit down again, that is a viable objective, because both are interested in it,” said the Venezuelan political scientist.
In fact, the president of the National Assembly and head of the Chavista representation in the negotiations, Jorge Rodríguez, released a photograph in which he appears with the delegate of the Unitarian Platform, Gerardo Blyde.
On Twitter, he maintained that it was a “work meeting for future plans” with the opposition, “in the rescue of the spirit of Mexico,” referring to the dialogue between both parties.
“This flexibility is not enough for Maduro, while the opposition has the presidential elections in its sights. So if this step contributes to the resumption of dialogue, it would be in the interest of the parties”, Puerta pointed out.
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This was ratified by Rodríguez on the social network: “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”.
However, the White House adviser for Latin America, Juan González, clarified that a total uprising is not planned. In fact, he warned that “If there is any kind of delay, of setback, then we will apply the sanctions again.”
“The disagreement is, as Juan González pointed out, that it is sufficiently documented that measures of this type do not contribute to forcing a regime change, which was the objective of the Trump administration,” Puerta said.
The expert mentioned the case of Cuba and, precisely, the announcement regarding Venezuela comes a day after the Biden Administration has chosen to reverse the toughest sanctions imposed by Trump on the island.
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“Inside his party there are currents for and against, so here the White House current is prevailing, which believes that we must be more flexible to achieve progress in the negotiation between the parties”, Gate pointed out.
Indeed, last week a group of congressmen asked to relax the sanctions against the Caribbean nation.
“Externally, Biden is seeking to create opportunities that can guarantee, not only the resumption of negotiations, but also agreements that allow us to think about presidential elections in Venezuela with minimum guarantees.
The goal set by the opposition is in the 2024 elections, with primaries a year earlier. Guaidó ratified that in order to attend to “the complex humanitarian emergency” in Venezuelathe main objective is “free and fair presidential and parliamentary elections, which they owe to us Venezuelans.”