The US will not renew a temporary license set to expire on Thursday that had largely eased sanctions on Venezuela's oil and gas sector, according to a State Department spokesman, unless President Nicolás Maduro makes progress. in commitments to hold fair and free elections this year.
The US is concerned about Venezuela's electoral process and what it considers to be Maduro's failure to fulfill his main promise regarding the July 28 presidential elections.
“If there is no progress by Maduro and his representatives in implementing the provisions of the action plan, the United States will not renew the license when it expires on April 18, 2024,” the spokesperson said on Monday.
The Biden administration has little hope that Maduro will make enough concessions before Thursday's deadline to satisfy U.S. demands. U.S. and Venezuelan officials met secretly in Mexico last Tuesday, but a source with knowledge of the talks said little or no progress had been made in easing differences.
Failure to renew the current license would not rule out the possibility of the US issuing a new, more restrictive license to replace it.
Venezuela's state oil company PDVSA said it is prepared for any scenario, including the return of full oil sanctions.
Aides to U.S. President Joe Biden are still discussing a range of options before the expiration of the temporary U.S. license that allowed Venezuela to freely sell its crude oil, according to people familiar with the matter.
The Biden administration is determined to punish Maduro's government in some way and is deliberating on how far to go in withdrawing sanctions relief, although it is expected there will not be a full return to the Trump-era “maximum pressure” policy.
(Reporting by Daphne Psaledakis and Matt Spetalnick in Washington, Marianna Parraga in Houston, Julia Symmes Cobb in Bogotá and Vivian Sequera in Caracas)
Source: CNN Brasil
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