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The Biden administration eased oil, gas and gold sanctions against Venezuela on Wednesday, a day after President Nicolás Maduro’s government and the U.S.-backed opposition agreed to terms for a competitive presidential election next year.
The Treasury Department has issued a general license allowing U.S. companies to engage in long-dated transactions, primarily in the government-controlled energy sector. It said the license was valid for six months and could only be renewed if the authoritarian socialist government “fulfills its obligations” in elections and “with regard to those who are unjustly imprisoned.”
The agreement signed on Tuesday by the government and opposition politicians after years of on-and-off negotiations could be a breakthrough in the South American country’s oppressive political stalemate. The Biden administration promised to consider suspending some sanctions in return for progress.
The proposed election deal and sanctions relief were first reported by The Washington Post this week. Government officials, who have long insisted that negotiations are taking place only among Venezuelans, denied on Monday that a “deal” on US sanctions was part of the package.
The US is easing sanctions against Venezuela to make next year’s presidential elections freer
Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken said Wednesday that the Treasury Department’s announcement is “consistent with our longstanding commitment to providing relief from U.S. sanctions in response to concrete steps toward competitive elections and respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms.” Other sanctions, he said in a statement, would remain in effect.
The United States “has also expressed our expectation and understanding” that before the end of November, Maduro will “establish a specific timeline and procedure for the expedited reinstatement of all” candidates in the upcoming elections, including “all those running for the want to run for president.” next year and “a level playing field in elections,” Blinken said.
Venezuela will also “begin the release of all unlawfully detained U.S. nationals and Venezuelan political prisoners,” he said.
Four Americans are known to be imprisoned in Venezuela. They include Luke Denman and Airan Berry, who were arrested in 2020 for their alleged involvement in a failed attempt to capture Maduro. Eyvin Hernandez was charged with criminal organization and conspiracy after entering Venezuela while on vacation. Jerrel Kenemore, 52, was arrested by immigration officials as he entered the country with his Venezuelan girlfriend.
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According to the human rights organization Foro Penal, more than 250 Venezuelans are currently being held for political reasons.
A senior administration official said none of the U.S. measures would address ongoing litigation related to CITGO, PDVSA’s U.S.-based oil refining and marketing company, which is being sued by creditors in U.S. courts, or to Venezuelan ones frozen in the United States assets impact or elsewhere. The official spoke on condition of anonymity under rules imposed by the administration.
The Maduro government promised on Tuesday to allow all parties to elect their candidates, allow international observers to monitor the vote and give all campaigns fair access to the media. The government has not promised to lift the bans that now prevent some opposition candidates from running.
During a televised meeting on Wednesday evening with members of his government involved in talks with the opposition, Maduro called the lifting of oil sanctions a “victory for the country” and a result of negotiations with the United States.
“This path must lead to the complete lifting of sanctions against Venezuela,” he said. “We stand by our word. What is written and signed is fulfilled. … With this license we are making progress step by step.”
The Treasury Department also amended licenses to lift a secondary trading ban on certain Venezuelan government bonds and debt and equity of PDVSA, the state-controlled oil company. “We assume that this, together with the lifting of restrictions on the state-owned gold mining company, would have the positive effect of ousting nefarious actors in this market and that the financial benefit to the Venezuelan authorities would be negligible,” the Treasury said.
Maduro, the hand-picked successor to Hugo Chávez, the founder of the socialist state of Venezuela, won a 2018 election that was viewed as fraudulent by the United States and other countries.
The Trump administration severed ties with the government in 2019 and added bans to existing sanctions that barred Venezuelans from accessing U.S. financial markets. President Donald Trump at times threatened military action against Venezuela, which he accused of plotting against the United States with Russia and Iran, with which Maduro has close ties. Iranian President Ibraham Raisi visited Caracas last summer on his first trip to Latin America.
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Venezuela has the largest proven oil reserves in the world, but years of mismanagement and sanctions against the oil sector have brought the economy to a near standstill. More than 7 million Venezuelans – a quarter of the population – have fled the country. While many now live in other South American countries, nearly 500,000 have crossed the U.S. southern border in the last three years; That includes about 50,000 who were arrested by U.S. agents last month.
Another result of the talks between Washington and Caracas was that the United States conducted its first deportation flight to Venezuela on Wednesday, sending back nearly 130 migrants.
Herrero reported from Caracas, Venezuela.