The main advisor of Joe Biden’s Government for Latin America, Juan González, warned in an interview that Washington hopes that the political leaders affected by the disqualification – among them the winner of the opposition primaries María Corina Machado – will recover their political rights before end of the month.
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If these and other conditions to which the Government of Nicolás Maduro committed at the dialogue table on October 17 in Barbados are not met, the United States would be ready to reinstate the oil sanctions that it temporarily lifted on that occasion.
“We have to see results to demonstrate that this first step is successful,” González said in an interview with the channel -NTN24-, adding that if Venezuela has not honored its commitments by November 30, “we are going to have to take steps to dismantle that sanctions relief that we have given.”
“Before the end of November we have to see a process for the rehabilitation of all the candidates, including María Corina Machado, (…) It should be the Venezuelans who decide who are going to be their leaders,” González added.
A kick to the table?
The Barbados dialogue table managed, with the mediation of Norway, for Washington to lift part of the restrictions on hydrocarbon and gas operations for six months, and in exchange Venezuela promised to advance an electoral schedule, review the disqualifications and release some political prisoners.
However, only five of the more than 200 people imprisoned for political reasons have been released since then (among them the deputies of the defunct National Assembly Roland Carreño and Juan Requesens), and although the opposition was able to carry out its internal consultation on October 22 , a ruling from the Supreme Court of Justice suspended its effects, due to alleged irregularities reported by José Brito, a deputy from an opposition sector, and the Attorney General’s Office began investigations for alleged fraud against the main officials of the National Primary Commission , who led the process.
President Nicolás Maduro responded on Tuesday to the US warnings, assuring during a speech broadcast on the official channel ‘VTV’ that in 2024 there will be elections “with or without sanctions”, recalling the sovereign nature of the decisions in his country and ensuring that will not give in to “blackmail.”
A relief for the reactivation of the oil industry
According to figures from the United States Energy Information Administration, Venezuelan oil production will increase from less than 200,000 barrels per day to close at an average of 900,000 barrels per day by the end of 2024, as a consequence of the relaxation of sanctions.
The weakening of the infrastructure of the state oil company PDVSA will force alliances to be established to reach the figure of 1,000,000 a day that the Maduro Government has set as a goal, and these alliances also involve the extension of the relief achieved through the agreement from Barbados.
According to sources close to the negotiations cited by the Reuters agency, PDVSA would be in talks with local and foreign oil companies, since without their participation it is impossible to reactivate the activity to meet the goals of increasing production.
For these agreements to be possible, it is necessary that the current climate of lifting the sanctions that had been imposed by the Asset Control Office of the Treasury Department be maintained.
With EFE and Reuters
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