The US rules out “for now” importing oil from Venezuela

The United States assured that “for now” it is not maintaining contacts or launching any plan to import oil from Venezuela, and confirmed that it spoke with Colombia to increase its supply of crude oil globally.

“It’s not something we’re actively talking about right now.”said the spokeswoman for the White House, Jen Psakiin his daily press conference.

Psaki thus responded to the question of whether the possibility that United States relax its oil sanctions Venezuela to be able to import more crude from that country, an idea that the White House had raised to stabilize oil prices.

That possibility aroused criticism from several legislators of both parties in the United States and also concern from allies of Washington such as the president of Colombia, Ivan Duke.

After meeting last Thursday with the US president, Joe BidenDuque revealed that he had offered Biden the supply of more Colombian oil to stabilize energy prices, as an alternative to Venezuelan crude.

Asked about it, Psaki confirmed this Monday that Biden spoke about this issue with Duque in the context of the “global energy security” after the Russian invasion of Ukrainebut said he had no further details on 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 ensuring supply to the global market, and we appreciate our relationship with Colombia”said the spokeswoman.

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 the illegitimate president Nicholas Maduroin what the White House said was the highest-ranking trip to Caracas in more than two decades.

The visit took place in the throes of the invasion of Ukraine by Russiaan important ally of Venezuela, and amid 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 raised the issue during the meeting with Maduro, but it has lowered expectations about that possibility after receiving criticism from several influential figures in the US Congress, including Democratic Senator Bob Menéndez.

A senior US official, who requested anonymity, last week described the visit to Caracas as a punctual meeting, by assuring that right now “There are no talks with the regime” of Maduro.

The United States has insisted that the main issue it discussed with Maduro was the situation of the ten Americans imprisoned in Venezuela, two of whom were released shortly after the visit.