Washington has restored sanctions against the energy sector (gas and oil) of Venezuela, considering that the Nicolás Maduro regime "has not fully complied with the commitments made" in an agreement on the electoral roadmap signed by the Government and the opposition, exiled in Barbados, in October 2023, states in a statement issued this Thursday by the State Department.
As of this midnight, the so-called General License 44 has expired, which for half a year has alleviated the oil sanctions in force for the last five years, although the affected companies have a 45-day extension to liquidate their businesses and transactions.
Although the statement acknowledges having complied with “some of the commitments made,” the US Government considers that the most fundamental thing has not been fulfilled: allowing the opposition to present the candidate of its choice against the Venezuelan president in the presidential elections of July 28.
Multiple opposition allies and activists have faced arrests in recent months, which sources close to the ruling party have said is likely a government reaction to waning domestic support for Maduro. For example, in January, the Venezuelan electoral commission disqualified opposition leader María Codina Machado for not including the payment of food vouchers in her sworn declaration of assets.
Concerns about whether the withdrawal of sanctions could cause an increase in global oil prices or increase the flow of Venezuelan immigrants to the US-Mexico border has weighed on the decision made by the US. , as Biden campaigns for his re-election in November.
Although far from being a complete turnaround and a return to the "maximum pressure" undertaken by his predecessor, Donald Trump, who recognized the opposition leader Juan Guaidó as the legitimate president of Venezuela, the North American Government clarifies that this measure "should not be seen as a final decision that we no longer believe Venezuela can hold competitive and inclusive elections," adding that Washington will continue dialogue with Maduro's representatives.
But these words, with which the North American State Department has wanted to soften the restitution of sanctions, have not tamed the response of Nicolás Maduro, who has assured that "nothing is going to stop us because we are not a colony of anyone." Meanwhile, Oil Minister Rafael Tellechea has promised that the oil sector will continue to grow. “Our country has been attacked to stop its energy development, but during this period we have shown that we will continue to advance with or without illegal sanctions,” he stated in statements collected by the national company he presides, Petróleos de Venezuela (PDVSA).
