Venezuela to get US sanctions relief in return for free elections: report

The United States has agreed to ease oil sanctions on Venezuela in return for free, internationally monitored presidential elections by the government of President Nicolás Maduro, the Washington Post reported, citing sources.

The report, published 17 October, said the sanctions relief is to be announced after Maduro’s government and Venezuela’s US-backed opposition sign an agreement in Barbados this week to include the commitments for elections, which have been agreed for next year.

‘The deal, which follows multiple attempts at negotiation between the Maduro government and opposition, would be the most significant progress in Venezuela’s political stalemate in years. It also suggests a willingness on behalf of the Biden administration to provide incentives to Maduro in the hopes of ensuring free and fair presidential elections in 2024,’ the Post said.

‘The talks are part of a dramatic shift in U.S. foreign policy in Venezuela, after a years-long effort to put maximum pressure on the Maduro government failed to bring solutions to the country’s crisis,’ it noted.

A senior US administration official said the deal did not include plans to unfreeze Venezuelan assets currently held in the United States, the report said, adding that Washington is likely to put a time limit on any sanctions relief so that it could be reversed if Maduro did not comply with his end of the deal.

Washington has imposed sanctions on Venezuela for more than 17 years, but significantly tightened them in early 2019 after declaring Maduro’s 2018 victory illegitimate.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/10/16/venezuela-us-sanctions-deal/