US open to easing economic restrictions on Venezuela

The United States is willing to relax economic pressure on Venezuela depending on the outcome of upcoming talks between President Nicolás Maduro and the opposition, according to a senior Biden administration official.

The comments indicate that President Joe Biden wants to see progress toward restoring democratic governance before allowing Venezuela to increase oil exports to the United States.

A US delegation briefed Venezuelan officials on its position during a surprise meeting on Saturday, the senior administration official told reporters in a conference call. US officials discussed the release of two US political prisoners and urged Maduro to resume negotiations with opposition leaders.

Discussions over the oil trade are happening on a broader level and US officials have neither committed to relaxing sanctions nor agreed to a quid pro quo involving sanctions relief for the release of prisoners, the official said.

Days after the meeting, Maduro released former Citgo executive Gustavo Cárdenas, a US citizen, and Jorge Fernández, a Cuban-American. The Venezuelan president said Monday that the format of the talks with the opposition, which began last year in Mexico and have been suspended for months, should be reconsidered.

Venezuela has been under economic and oil sanctions since 2019, when the United States and other nations recognized opposition leader Juan Guaidó as the country’s legitimate president following allegations of electoral fraud. The White House’s new engagement with the Maduro government comes as it seeks to attract Russia’s allies in the Western Hemisphere after Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.

Any move to resume imports of Venezuelan oil would anger Biden’s critics, who have accused him of seeking oil from US adversaries instead of bolstering domestic production. The United States, at least in theory, still considers Guaidó the legitimate leader of Venezuela and has accused the Maduro government of human rights violations and causing a humanitarian crisis.

Senator Marco Rubio, a Republican from Florida, plans to introduce a bill this week that would ban US imports of oil from Venezuela and Iran.

Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Bob Menendez, a New Jersey Democrat and Biden ally, urged the president not to resume oil shipments from Venezuela.

“Nicolás Maduro is a cancer for our hemisphere and we must not breathe new life into his reign of torture and murder”, Menéndez said Monday in a statement.

US policy regarding Venezuela is likely to emerge during a White House meeting on Thursday between Biden and President Iván Duque of Colombia. His government has expressed concern about the opening of the United States to Caracas. Duque described Maduro on Wednesday as “war criminal”.