The United States insisted this Tuesday (16) that it will re-impose sanctions on Venezuela if the Barbados Agreements for free elections are not fulfilled and warned that the South American country must remain “attentive” in relation to the decision that the government of President Joe Biden will take it this week.
The relief from sanctions on Venezuelan oil and gas that Washington approved in October last year to encourage Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro to comply with agreements signed with the opposition expires next Thursday (18).
“We are two days away from April 18. We have made it very clear that if Maduro and his representatives do not fully implement the Barbados Accords, we will impose sanctions again. What I would say is: stay alert,” the president said at a press conference. State Department voice Matthew Miller.
He emphasized that some aspects of the agreements were fulfilled, such as the establishment of an electoral calendar and the invitation of international observation missions, but at the same time, “opposition candidates were blocked.”
The spokesman, who declined to elaborate on last week's meeting between U.S. and Venezuelan officials in Mexico City, said the U.S. government made “very clear directly to Maduro and his representatives” that it expects compliance with the Barbados.
One of Washington's conditions for not reimposing sanctions was that all opposition candidates were allowed to run, but the main opposition candidate, María Corina Machado, remains ineligible for the July 28 elections.
Electoral authorities also refused to allow his replacement, Corina Yoris, to register, drawing criticism even from some Maduro allies. (With EFE Agency)
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