The European Union has decided to extend the sanctions against Venezuela that have been in place since 2017. However, this is a gesture of recognition of the timid – still very uncertain – steps taken by the government of Nicolás Maduro and the opposition with a view to holding presidential elections next year. Next year, the review of the measure will take place within six months, and not how usual in a year. In addition, the Twenty-Seven agree to “reassess” the measures and even “reverse them at any time” if “concrete, sustainable and demonstrable” progress is confirmed in the political situation of the South American country.
The October Barbados political agreement “represents a positive and necessary step in continuing the process of inclusive dialogue and restoring democracy in Venezuela,” the EU Council said in a statement on the pact, which emerged from a table Dialogue between the government and the opposition to hold presidential elections in the second half of 2024, monitored by the Union and other international actors.
Taking this “context” into account, it was “exceptionally” decided to shorten the duration of the renewal of sanctions “from 12 to six months,” says the official European note issued as part of the discussions of the foreign ministers, which meet in Brussels this Monday and Tuesday.
At the last meeting of European foreign ministers in Luxembourg at the end of October, the head of Spanish diplomacy, José Manuel Albares, even suggested that the lifting of sanctions should now be examined in view of the “positive development” of the dialogue. Venezuela and Washington’s decision to lift its sanctions against Venezuelan oil , gas and gold to be partially and temporarily suspended.
Shortly before Luxembourg’s appointment, María Corina Machado’s victory in the opposition primaries in Venezuela was announced, which should make her Nicolás Maduro’s competitor in the 2024 elections. A victory that the Supreme Court of Venezuela declared invalid only a few days later. Maduro’s government began to talk about fraud and mobilized the prosecution against Machado, who was politically disqualified by Chavismo for 15 years.
After learning of the Venezuelan court decision, North American Secretary of State Antony Blinken warned Maduro that he did not have carte blanche to violate the agreement with the opposition and that it could mean the full return of sanctions. “If the regime has actually violated the agreement reached, we will take the necessary measures (…); “You will not have carte blanche to carry out actions that contradict the commitments made to free and fair elections,” the US diplomat chief said, according to Agence France Presse.
Without mentioning the recent setbacks in Caracas, the EU merely signaled its willingness to “take steps” and even consider “easing or lifting” sanctions. Of course, he warns, always “depending on the development of the situation and the implementation” of the political agreement with the opposition. And also, he adds, the “progress on the unconditional release of all those unjustly imprisoned, freedom of expression, including representatives of the press, the independence of the electoral process and judicial institutions,” are key elements that enable the holding of “credible, inclusive and transparent democratic elections “, he adds, guaranteeing “respect for human and political rights”.
European sanctions are regularly reviewed and in the case of Venezuela the decision to extend them or not had to be taken before this Tuesday, the date on which the last extension approved on December 2 last year expired. The EU has imposed sanctions on Venezuela since 2017, when it approved an embargo on weapons and equipment that could be used for internal repression. In addition, a list of people subject to travel bans and asset freezes was drawn up. This list has expanded in recent years to include more than fifty sanctioned individuals.
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