The United States announced on Tuesday May 17 very limited relief from heavy sanctions against Venezuela, presented as a gesture to promote an imminent resumption of dialogue between President Nicolas Maduro and the opposition supported by Washington.

After the lifting of some restrictions on Cuba on Monday, it is the second Latin American opponent of the United States to benefit from such a boost.

Even if American officials speak of "coincidences", the approach to the Summit of the Americas organized in June by President Joe Biden in Los Angeles may have something to do with it: Mexico threatens to boycott the meeting if Cuba, the Venezuela and Nicaragua are not invited, and could therefore be sensitive to these relaxations of the American position.

Regarding Venezuela, the sanctions relief is "linked to an agreement by both sides to resume negotiations" in Mexico City to find a way out of the Venezuelan political crisis, "which they should announce very soon", a senior official said. US official to reporters.

He said that this measure had been taken "at the request of the Venezuelan transitional government" of opponent Juan Guaido, recognized by the United States as the legitimate president of Venezuela.

Oil price

The Venezuelan talks had been stalled since October.

But a rare visit by Biden administration emissaries to the socialist president in March led to the release of two Americans detained in Venezuela and the promise of a resumption of dialogue with the opposition.

At the time, this trip fueled speculation about a possible breach of the Venezuelan oil embargo imposed by Washington in 2019 in the hope of pushing Nicolas Maduro out.

The United States was indeed traveling around the world in search of hydrocarbons to compensate for the loss of Russian crude following the sanctions in response to the invasion of Ukraine by Moscow.

But Tuesday's measures have no connection with a desire to lower oil prices, assured the American official.

In detail, this "sanctions relief" concerns above all a "limited exemption" granted to the American oil group Chevron within the framework of the embargo.

The company will be able to "negotiate the terms of potential future activities in Venezuela", without however concluding a new agreement with the Venezuelan national company PDVSA, explained this official.

Hope in Caracas

"Venezuela has verified and confirmed the information released that the United States of America has authorized American and European oil companies to negotiate and resume operations in Venezuela," Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodriguez tweeted. .

She said she hopes that these decisions "pave the way for the complete lifting of the illegal sanctions that affect all of our people".

For its part, the Unitary Platform, which brings together the main Venezuelan opposition parties, called in a press release for a date for the resumption of talks, specifying that it had not asked Washington to ease the sanctions. individual.  

According to American media, Carlos Erik Malpica Flores, ex-executive of PDVSA and nephew of the First Lady of Venezuela, must also be removed from the blacklist of the American Treasury.

"None of these pressure-relieving measures will lead to an increase in the regime's revenue," the senior official assured.

He made a point of insisting that the American policy with regard to Venezuela remained unchanged: the sanctions will be "lightened" in the event of progress towards democracy and "free" elections, and "heavier" if the process derails.

US lawmakers protest

This guarantee was not enough to reassure certain American elected officials in the front line in opposition to the power of the socialist leader.

"President Biden says he supports democracy and human rights, but his foreign policy is built on seeking accommodation and giving concessions to dictators," said Republican Senator Marco Rubio from Florida, whose state hosts the largest community of the Venezuelan diaspora in the United States.

“Making a handful of undeserved gestures for Maduro just to get his regime to promise to sit down at the negotiating table is a strategy doomed to failure,” also railed his colleague Bob Menendez, a member of the Democratic Party like Joe Biden. .

With AFP

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