The United States again toughens sanctions against the Maduro regime

The Biden administration said that the relief for the Venezuelan oil and gas sectors will be renewed in April only if Venezuela complies with the agreement for there to be free and competitive elections.

Published by

Williams Perdomo

30 de enero, 2024

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The Biden administration announced Tuesday that it has once again toughened sanctions against the Nicolás Maduro regime. The decision came after the socialist dictatorship disqualified María Corina Machado, the main opposition leader, from running in elections.

In addition, the U.S. government highlighted that relief for the Venezuelan oil and gas sectors will be renewed in April only if Maduro's representatives comply with the commitments agreed upon in negotiations between the regime and the Venezuelan opposition to have free and fair elections.

"In response to anti-democratic actions by Maduro representatives, the United States has revoked sanctions relief for Venezuela’s gold sector. The relief for Venezuelan oil and gas sectors will be renewed in April only if Maduro representatives follow through on their commitments," said State Department spokesman Matthew Miller.

Already this Monday, the Treasury Department had announced that the relief from sanctions for the Venezuelan Corporation of Guayana Minerven CA, the company that controls the gold market in Venezuela, was reversed.

The dictatorial regime's decision to disqualify María Corina Machado has been condemned by the international community. Several countries, including Argentina, Uruguay, Ecuador, the United Kingdom, Paraguay, Guatemala and the European Union, have expressed concern about the situation.

The Barbados electoral roadmap agreement remains the most viable mechanism to resolving Venezuela’s longstanding political, economic, and humanitarian crisis and realizing competitive and inclusive elections in Venezuela, but that will require Maduro and his representatives upholding the roadmap’s principles and ensuring that opposition political actors have the right to select their candidates for the 2024 presidential election freely.

The relief of sanctions was a measure that Joe Biden's government adopted under the condition that Nicolás Maduro comply with the agreement he signed in Barbados which establishes that free and fair elections must be held in Venezuela. However, recently the Venezuelan dictatorship violated the agreement by trying to ban the opposition leader, who won in the primaries with 92.5% of the votes.