Caracas and Washington saw each other again this week, after the last meeting held on March 5 at the presidential palace in Miraflores.
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At that time, the surprising appointment led to the relief of oil sanctions for Venezuela, the release of an American and the removal from the list of the Office of Asset Control (Ofac) of a nephew of the Venezuelan first lady Cilia Flores.
Now, the new meeting, according to sources familiar with the visit, seems to point to more oil incentives, to the negotiation of US citizens who have still been imprisoned for four years, including five Citgo executives, and “readjust” some objectives of the foreign policy of the Biden administration with Venezuela.
What is the delegation looking for?
The US ambassador to Venezuela, James Story, leads the delegation in an effort to promote political negotiations between the Government and the oppositionsuspended in Mexico and which are one of Washington’s demands.
According to sources close to the visit, Story will have separate meetings with opposition and government representatives.
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The visit became known on Monday night when President Nicolás Maduro assured that the main negotiator of the Government and president of the National Assembly, Jorge Rodríguez, had welcomed “an important delegation from the US Government”, without give more details about the meeting.
This Tuesday it was learned that a State Department spokesman said that Story came along with the US Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs, Rogelio Carstens, to discuss the welfare and safety of US citizens in Venezuela.
“Given that the US delegation includes Carstens, the negotiating agenda will most likely focus on the release of political prisoners. The US wants to sell this visit as a quid pro quo to relax sanctions for political prisoners”, the political scientist and consultant Enderson Sequera tells EL TIEMPO.
“If Chavismo offers concrete gestures, the Biden administration could consider lifting the sanctions on a large scale and resuming, in the short and medium term, the supply of oil from Venezuela,” adds Sequera.
A twist in relationships
If Chavismo offers concrete gestures, the Biden administration could consider lifting the sanctions on a large scale.
After years of broken relations, which led to the closing of the US embassy in 2019, a second visit comes in less than three months.
As early as March, Venezuela was allowed to ship oil to Europe to cover gas sales by Spain’s Repsol and Italy’s Eni, helping to offset a supply crisis resulting from an embargo on Russian crude.
Meanwhile, the opposition Unitary Platform of Venezuela assured yesterday that it was not summoned to any meeting with the United States delegation.
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Through its spokesman, former deputy Omar Barboza, the Platform pointed out that they have not requested the lifting of sanctions either. “Those are powers of the United States Government, we do not know the agenda and we respect whatever it is,” said Barboza.
When asked if the approach of the Biden administration with the regime could be taken as a contradiction, The spokesman assured that from the opposition they represent “they will not interfere in the relationship between the US and Maduro.”.
Regarding the advances to resume the dialogue table in Mexico, it is known that Jorge Rodríguez, from the ruling party, and Gerardo Blyde, opposition leader, held a meeting in Oslo a week ago.
The truth is that within the National Assembly there is expectation for these meetings. José Gregorio Correa, opposition deputy, considers that “it was a mistake to break relations.”
“The presence of James Story and another high-ranking official is a sign of the interest in rapprochement of both governments. It is natural to have relations with the US, that time of sanctions has to end because the breaking of relations was a wasted time”, insists Correa.
The role of Colombia
Now, analysts agree that the ingredient of the new Colombian government must be added to the panorama, where the elected president Gustavo Petro would play an important role in the rapprochements, since he could serve as a mediator.
“Specifically, Colombia could request a license from the US to export gasoline to Venezuela and help alleviate the fuel crisis. In exchange, Venezuela could mediate with the irregular armed groups that are in Venezuelan and Colombian territory to reach a peace agreement,” explains Sequera.
However, the path is not yet defined. This Tuesday The opposition also announced that before the end of the year they will announce the date of the primaries that will take place in 2023. to choose the opponent of Chavismo for the presidential elections of 2024. Something that, probably, will be part of the conversations with the Americans.
Colombia could request a license from the US to export gasoline to Venezuela and help alleviate the fuel crisis.
This new US visit to Caracas also comes after French President Emmanuel Macron asked the Biden administration to lift sanctions against Iran and Venezuela to alleviate the oil emergency resulting from the Russian-Ukrainian conflict.
“President Macron, Venezuela is ready to receive all the French companies that want to come to produce oil and gas for the European market, for the world market (…) the road has been paved. We are prepared, ready and ready to do so” , sentenced Maduro.
Once again, Venezuelan oil becomes the most important diplomatic weapon of the Caribbean countryreinforcing this idea after the tour made by the Venezuelan president through Turkey, Iran, Algeria, Kuwait, where he strengthened energy agreements.
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