A US delegation held talks with Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro during a visit to Caracas over the weekend, the governments of both countries said on Monday.
The White House, which does not recognize Maduro as president after calling his re-election in 2018 fraudulent, indicated that the energy issue was on the table, at a time when The United States seeks to reduce its oil imports from Russia, a key ally of Venezuela, after the invasion of Ukraine.
“The purpose of the trip by administration officials was to discuss a variety of issues that certainly include energy, energy security”, declared the spokeswoman for the Joe Biden government, Jen Psaki, at a press conference.
According to the New York Times, the recent visit to Caracas by senior officials from the State Department and the White House responds to the Washington’s alleged interest in replacing part of the oil it currently buys from Russia with the oil it stopped buying from Venezuela.
The Wall Street Journal reported calls from investors to the Biden government to be able to buy Venezuelan crude again.
American opposition
But for Republican Senator Marco Rubio, that would be trading oil from “one murderous dictator with oil from another murderous dictator.” “For Biden to organize secret meetings with the narco-terrorist Maduro without even informing Venezuelans that they have suffered and risked everything opposing Maduro is a vile betrayal,” he tweeted Monday.
For Mariano de Alba, an expert on Venezuela at the International Crisis Group, To think that in a very short time Maduro will abandon Putin and get closer to the United States “is quite unrealistic”, he explained to AFP.
Psaki did not specify who made up the Biden government delegation, but it transpired that it included Juan González, director for the Americas of the Biden National Security Council; Roger Carstens, Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs; and Jimmy Story, US ambassador to Venezuela, based in Bogotá.
Maduro confirmed on Monday night the meeting, which he described as “respectful, cordial and diplomatic” without going into detail about the issues addressed.
“We did it in the presidential office,” he said in a television address. “There were the two beautiful flags, united as the flags of the United States and Venezuela should be, we had almost two hours talking.”
Participating for the Venezuelan government were Maduro; his wife, Cilia Flores; and the President of Parliament, Jorge Rodríguez.
no diplomatic relations
Venezuela has not had diplomatic relations with Washington since 2019 when, instead, it recognized opposition leader Juan Guaidó as interim president and imposed a battery of sanctions on Caracas in order to force the Chavista leader out.
The measures include an embargo in force since April 2019 that prevents Venezuela from trading its crude – which represented 96% of the country’s income – in the US market. Since then, Maduro has received strong support from Russia to be able to continue exporting oil despite the punitive measures. (I)
Source: Eluniverso
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