U.S. SANCTIONS AGAINST VENEZUELA RETURN AFTER MACHADO'S DISQUALIFICATION
The US Office of Foreign Assets Control established that all US companies have until February 13 to close, if any, transactions with the Venezuelan state-owned company Minerven.
This is the first specific step in the return of US economic sanctions against the Venezuelan regime. The decision was announced this Monday, January 29, 2024, three days after the Venezuelan Supreme Court ratified the disqualification of opposition candidate María Corina Machado from participating in elections.
Minerven is the Venezuelan state-owned company dedicated to the exploitation and commercialization of gold in the South American country.
The U.S. had relaxed sanctions last year, by virtue of the Barbados Agreement, in which the Maduro government and the Venezuelan opposition agreed, among other things, to free elections in 2024, with the participation of the candidates chosen by the political organizations.
The opposition held primary elections in October 2023, in which Machado obtained 92.5% of the preferences.
Before the reinstatement of the sanctions in the mining field was known, John Kirby, National Security Spokesman of the White House, said that Venezuela’s rulers “have until spring to honor their commitments. They have decisions to make before we measure what decisions we will make.”
The delegate of the Maduro regime in the negotiations with the opposition, Jorge Rodriguez, assured that “if there is any aggressive action (by the US), our response will be severe, reciprocal and energetic”.
MACHADO INSISTS ON HER CANDIDACY
In the plans of Machado and her political organization there is no possible replacement. Despite the veto, she maintains her intention to participate in the elections on behalf of the Democratic Unitary Platform (PUD).
“Whether Maduro wants to or not, he is going to measure himself against me and we will defeat him in the presidential elections”, Machado assured.
Machado had been disqualified by the Comptroller General’s Office in June last year. This entity decided that she could not participate in elections for 15 years. After the signing of the Barbados Agreement, which provides for free elections, Machado requested the Supreme Court to clarify whether the disqualification still applied to her. The request was resolved with an unfavorable result for Machado.
A possible substitute would have been Henrique Capriles. But the opposition candidate, twice presidential candidate, is also subject to a 15-year veto during which he cannot run for elected office. The ratification of the disqualifications of Machado and Capriles were enacted on the same day, last Friday, January 26.
WHAT THE U.S. HAD GRANTED
Lifting the disqualifications of the opposition politicians was part of the demands that the US had made to Venezuela to relax the sanctions against that country. It also requested, among other things, the release of political prisoners and U.S. prisoners, unjustly detained in Washington’s eyes.
With the achievement of the Barbados Agreement, the U.S. relaxed economic sanctions, especially those related to the limits it had imposed on Venezuelan oil and gas sales.
As a result of the agreements between the Maduro government and the Venezuelan opposition, the U.S. also released the controversial Alex Saab, who was immediately integrated to the high-level team of the Maduro government. Venezuela, for its part, released U.S. and Venezuelan prisoners.
The deterioration of relations began a few weeks ago when three leaders of Machado’s party were arrested, accused by the prosecutor’s office (led by a former Chavista official) of being part of a plot against Maduro, who denounced that there was a plan to kill him.
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