WASHINGTON — The Biden administration said on Tuesday it would ease crippling economic sanctions against the Venezuelan government to help resume stalled talks between President Nicolás Maduro and opposition leaders aimed at alleviating the country’s political and humanitarian crisis.
Senior US officials said the resumption of negotiations would be announced by Venezuelan officials later Tuesday.
To lure Maduro back to the negotiating table, the Biden administration said it would allow talks between his administration and Chevron, the last major US oil company with significant operations in Venezuela. Under the current sanctions, Chevron is prohibited from doing business with the Venezuelan government and is only allowed to carry out essential maintenance work in the country.
The US Treasury Department will also lift sanctions against Carlos Eric Malpica, a former Venezuelan state oil official and cousin of the first lady, Cilia Flores, according to a senior Biden government official familiar with the talks. The official discussed the policy change on Tuesday on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized by the White House to speak officially.
During a briefing to reporters in Washington, the government official downplayed the benefits Maduro could gain from the easing of sanctions. The official said Chevron would receive a license that would only allow the company to discuss future activities with Venezuelan officials and such activities would not generate revenue for Mr Maduro’s government.
The official also warned that even that small concession would be withdrawn if Maduro’s government refrained from making good faith efforts to negotiate with political opponents led by former National Assembly leader Juan Guaidó, who is being led by the United States. considered the legitimate interim president of Venezuela.
The opposition’s main demand is free and fair presidential elections, currently scheduled for 2024.
According to the senior official, the Biden administration approved the lifting of sanctions at the specific request of the Venezuelan opposition. The opposition said the request came directly from Mr Maduro, according to a Venezuelan opposition official who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly.
The Venezuelan Ministry of Information did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Maduro has steadily consolidated power in Venezuela after winning re-election in 2018 in a vote deemed fraudulent by the United States. As his power grew, his incentive to negotiate a political deal with the weakened opposition diminished.
The authoritarian president canceled the latest round of talks in October after the United States arrested a Venezuela-based businessman who helped the government evade sanctions.
The minor sanctions concessions follow a rare trip by senior government officials from Biden to Caracas in March, which led to the release of two American prisoners held by Maduro’s government. Eight other US citizens are still detained in Venezuela.
It remains unclear whether the government’s limited fees will be enough to entice Maduro to make meaningful political concessions to the opposition. Chevron and other oil companies in Venezuela are still banned from selling oil to the United States; dozens of other senior Venezuelan officials, including Mr Maduro, remain under sanctions.
Delcy Rodríguez, a senior official and ally of Mr Maduro, in a Twitter post on Tuesday suggested that the sanctions deal was broader than what had been announced by the White House, and would allow foreign oil companies to restart operations in Venezuela.
The senior Biden government official urged Venezuelan negotiators to create conditions for free and fair national elections as soon as possible. Time is running out for the Biden administration, which faces midterm elections in the United States in November that could put Republicans in control of Congress, potentially blocking White House policy priorities, including in Venezuela.
The White House’s aid to Maduro in March was criticized by both prominent Republicans and Democrats in Congress, who argued the move gave legitimacy to one of the most authoritarian governments in the Western Hemisphere.
On Tuesday, Texas Representative Michael McCaul, the top Republican on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, attacked the latest concessions, saying the Biden administration had “decided to capitulate” to Maduro’s corrupt and repressive government.
The easing of sanctions against Venezuela follows the Biden administration’s announcement this week that it was easing some restrictions on travel and money transfers to Cuba, another authoritarian state.
With the world’s largest proven oil reserves, Venezuela had long been a power in international oil markets. But in recent years, oil production has collapsed under the weight of debt, corruption, mismanagement and finally US sanctions in 2019.
The country’s oil fields and refineries are in decline and can hardly use tech support from Western companies like Chevron.
Once closely tied to US energy companies, Venezuela now relies on financial and other support from Russia, China and Iran.
Lara Jakes reported from Washington and Anatoly Kurmanaev from Mexico City. Clifford Krauss contributed to reporting from Houston.
