The US changes its policy towards the Venezuelan regime
A Biden administration official said the move is in response to talks taking place between representatives of Maduro and the interim government of Juan Guaidó.
The United States announced on Tuesday the lifting of some of its economic sanctions against Venezuela, including permission for the US oil company Chevron to talk with the state-owned PDVSA, to try to reactivate the dialogue between the opposition and the Nicolás Maduro regime.
“I want to clarify that the government is doing this in response to the conversations that are taking place between the regime and the interim government (of Juan Guaidó),” a high-level official from the US Administration, who requested anonymity, explained on Tuesday during a call with journalists, waiting for the formal announcement to be made in the next few hours.
“All this responds to a request from the interim government,” the American emphasized, “and is the result of an agreement by both parties to return to talks, which should be announced very soon.”
The conversations that the Venezuelan opposition -grouped under the name of the Unitarian Platform- and representatives of the ruler, Nicolás Maduro, were having in Mexico City were suspended last October after the extradition to Venezuela of the alleged figurehead of Maduro, Alex Saab.
Regarding the lifting of the ban on negotiating between Chevron and PDVSA, the official clarified that the decision allows both oil companies to “talk”, but in no case exploit or trade with Venezuelan crude, so it will not mean “any increase in income of the regime”.
The source also pointed out that the announcement is completely unrelated to the controversy over the announcement by Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador that he will not attend the Summit of the Americas if the US does not invite Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela to participate.
On Monday, the Biden administration announced another change in position regarding one of these three countries by allowing the return of all commercial flights between the country and Cuba, many of which had been suspended during the Donald Trump administration (2017- 2021), among other changes.
The Summit of the Americas will be held in Los Angeles (California) from June 6 to 10, the first time it has been organized by the United States since the 1994 edition.
