The United States reactivates sanctions against Venezuelan oil as a measure of electoral pressure

As it had warned time and again, the US Government announced this Wednesday the return of sanctions against the Venezuelan energy sector, considering that the Chavista regime has not fulfilled all its commitments to be able to hold free elections in that country. Starting this midnight in Washington (04:00 GMT on Thursday) the so-called General License 44 will expire, which for six months has partially allowed Caracas to sell its gas and oil in international markets. Companies affected by the cancellation will have until May 31 to complete the operations included in that measure.

Although it recognizes that the president of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro, and his representatives have implemented some of their promises regarding the elections – among other things, the updating of electoral records -, the United States considers that “they have not fulfilled one of the most important commitments.” fundamental”: allowing the opposition to present its preferred candidates, as stated by a senior official in President Joe Biden's Administration, who spoke on condition of anonymity about the step announced this Wednesday.

The Venezuelan electoral commission has disqualified the opposition leader María Corina Machado, winner by a large majority of the primaries on her platform, as a candidate, and vetoed the possibility of the designated replacement, Corina Yoris, running in her place. Given the repeated blockades, the Unitary Platform that brings together the main opposition parties has ended up proposing Edmundo González Urrutia on an interim basis.

Washington had approved General License 44, which reduced its sanctions on the Venezuelan oil sector, in October, after the Chavista government and the opposition negotiated an agreement in Barbados to hold the presidential elections scheduled for July 28. The measure was valid for six months but could be renewed if the United States assessed that Maduro was taking the promised steps. The Biden Administration maintains that the decision announced this Wednesday has been made after a process that has included consultations with its partners in the region, including Colombia.

In addition to updating the electoral census, Venezuela has also taken steps to allow the presence of international observers in the vote and to establish a procedural calendar for the elections. But Washington denounces the “worrying campaign of harassment and intimidation against opposition figures simply for exercising their political rights to assemble and campaign,” in the words of another senior official who requested anonymity.

The withdrawal of what was the main piece in the relief of US sanctions on Venezuela marks a turn in the policy that the Biden Administration had adopted until now of building bridges towards the Maduro Government.

In deliberations about how to proceed, U.S. officials have tried to combine two goals. On the one hand, intensify pressure on Caracas to hold free elections. On the other hand, prevent the punishment from destabilizing the delicate global energy market and triggering fuel prices: an absolute taboo in the midst of an electoral campaign in the United States, where the progress of the economy is one of the main issues. In March, Venezuelan crude oil reached its highest prices since the beginning of 2020, driven by buyers rushing to close operations in anticipation of the return of sanctions, according to the Reuters agency.

Washington also does not want to risk unleashing an avalanche of Venezuelan migrants towards the southern border of the United States, another hot potato for Biden and his team in the very close battle for re-election next November.

Thus, the transition period of 45 days is intended to allow those affected by the measure “to close their operations in an orderly manner and not cause unwanted effects,” according to senior officials of the Biden Administration. They also specify that the lifting of the measure will not affect the particular licenses that Washington grants, on a case-by-case basis, to certain companies that request to be able to trade with Venezuelan gas and oil. Individual permits may still be requested.

And the withdrawal of the license “should not be perceived as a final decision that we have stopped believing that Venezuela can hold inclusive and competitive elections,” they stressed, pointing out the possibility of reestablishing it, or approving a similar measure, if Caracas opted. for applying the steps that Washington demands.

“The vast majority of Venezuelans continue to want, and make every effort, to achieve competitive elections in 2024 with a serious opposition candidate… we will continue our contacts with all interested parties, including representatives of Maduro, the opposition democracy, civil society and the international community to support the efforts of the Venezuelan people towards a better future,” they insisted.

Hours before the announcement, a group of Republican senators had urged Biden not to renew the license. “We must not give up US pressure by lifting sanctions while the Maduro government deliberately ignores its obligations,” the lawmakers argued in an open letter.

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