Washington eases sanctions on Venezuela after electoral agreement
The U.S. announced on Wednesday a temporary lift on the Donald Trump-era economic sanctions imposed on Venezuela’s oil, gas, and gold sectors, following an electoral agreement reached earlier this week between the government of Nicolás Maduro and representatives of the opposition (our Latin America Weekly newsletter explained the issue).
According to the deal, elections in Venezuela will be held during the second semester of 2024 and also under the auspices of international observers, all in order to guarantee a free, transparent process — in 2018, Mr. Maduro’s re-election was not recognized by the U.S. and several world nations for being considered neither free nor fair. The process was also massively boycotted by the opposition.
The six-month provisional relief was made public in a statement issued by the U.S. Treasury Department, which said the decision comes “in response to the signing of an electoral roadmap agreement” between the Chavistas and the opposition’s bloc Unitary Platform of Venezuela.
The document temporarily greenlights transactions related to the aforementioned mining and energy sectors, but can be revoked “at any time, should representatives of [the] Maduro [administration] fail to follow through on their commitments,” the office said.
The new steps were highly celebrated by President Maduro, who projected a “strong return” to the oil and gas market soon. His country is home to the world’s largest oil reserves, a sector that comprises over 90 percent of the country’s exports — meaning such sanctions could be devastating to the Venezuelan economy.
Later in the week, Reuters also reported that five Venezuelans, including “well-known opposition figures,” had been released from jail, something also foreseen by the new arrangements. The new developments also take place a few days before the opposition’s long-awaited primaries, to be held on Sunday for the first time in a decade.
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