John Kirby, White House National Security spokesman, affirmed that the United States continues to consider keeping the sanctions imposed on Venezuela suspended despite the persistent violations of Nicolás Maduro's regime to the Barbados Agreement.
During a press conference on Friday, Kirby was questioned about the recent arbitrary arrest of two prominent members of the Vente Venezuela Party, the political group led by opposition leader María Corina Machado, and how this new repression by the Maduro regime could influence the sanctions applied to Venezuela. However, the White House spokesman's statements suggest that there will be no significant consequences for the Venezuelan dictatorship.
Although Kirby assured that the arrests of Henry Alviárez and Dignora Hernández generated "deep concern" in Washington, the spokesman added that the White House remains willing to consider "sanctions relief" if Venezuela complies with the Barbados Agreement.
Tune in for a briefing with Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre and White House National Security Communications Advisor John Kirby. https://t.co/HZHVvNCArf
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) March 22, 2024
In October last year, Nicolás Maduro pledged to ensure fair presidential elections and the eventual resolution of political disqualifications in exchange for easing sanctions on the oil, gas and gold sectors that weighed on the dictatorial regime.
However, Nicolás Maduro has already violated the agreement on several occasions. The regime not only illegitimately disqualified opposition leader María Corina Machado but also ignored the opposition primaries that she won after receiving more than 90% of the votes. The dictator has intensified the persecution and repression against other opponents and activists. In addition, he continued to violate the agreement by setting an unfair election date of July 28.
Since the United States announced the temporary suspension of sanctions on Venezuela last year in hopes of encouraging the Maduro government to hold free elections this year, the White House has repeatedly threatened to re-impose sanctions if the regime does not comply with its agreement. However, the dictator continues to defy these warnings.
