United States to Reactivate Some Sanctions Against Venezuela’s Dictatorship After Disqualification of Maria Corina Machado

The United States government canceled this Monday Part Relaxation of restrictions Against the Venezuelan dictatorship His warning came to an end after the Chavista Supreme Court of Justice (TSJ) upheld Maria Corina Machado’s political disqualification, which he approved last year.

The North American Treasury Department gave a deadline of February 13 for companies dealing with Venezuela’s state mining company Minervain. To liquidate their operations. The agency approved the transactions with the mining company in October, after the Nicolas Maduro regime struck a deal with a US-backed opposition group to work to level the playing field ahead of this year’s presidential election.

This Monday, the North American government announced that it was giving Maduro until April to enable Machado. Otherwise, he would reinstate sanctions on Venezuelan oil and gold that he lifted months ago.

“We have options at our disposal. I’m not going to go into any of that at this point, but we certainly have options regarding restrictions and the kinds of things we can take. They have until April“White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said at a press conference.

Chavismo had already announced before the White House announcement that Venezuela would respond with “severity” and “reciprocal” measures.

The Biden administration made several agreements with the Maduro government around the end of 2023. The first of those agreements involved the return of flights from the United States to Caracas with Venezuelan nationals deported from North America.

Then, within the framework of the Barbados Accords, in which the regime committed the opposition to holding elections and lifting sanctions on candidates, another major action taken by Washington with Caracas was the partial lifting of sanctions on Venezuela on issues such as exploitation. Oil And no Gold.

The United States government said at the time that the agreement was also beneficial to Americans. In the first month, to return to the legal market, sales of illegal Venezuelan oil had already seen a decline.

The third agreement was the most controversial of all because it also had no setbacks. In late December, the Chavista regime released ten Americans imprisoned in Caracas but That included the release by the United States of Colombian businessman Alex Saab, who was arrested for money laundering and identified as Maduro’s front man..

The United States State Department noted on Saturday that Machado’s disqualification is “inconsistent” with the Chavista regime’s commitment to holding free and fair presidential elections. Washington emphasized it then was “reviewing” the sanctions policy against Venezuela As a result of the court ruling and the recent crackdown on government critics, including members of Machado’s campaign team, human rights activists and journalists.

The head of the official delegation, Jorge Rodríguez, ruled out overturning the ruling, even as Washington threatened a limited and temporary relaxation of the sanctions imposed to encourage negotiations.

The prospect of free presidential elections suffered a blow last Friday when the country’s highest court – pro-Chavismo – confirmed the disqualification of María Corina Machado from holding office.

Vente Venezuela (VV) leader wins more than opposition presidential primaries 90% votes. His victory came despite the regime announcing his 15-year disqualification days after he formally entered the race in June.

(with information from AP)