The U.S. reimposed sanctions on Venezuela’s oil and gas sectors today — specifically, the Treasury Department allowed a temporary waiver to expire — after the Venezuelan Maduro government failed to maintain its commitment to hold free and fair elections, monitored by international observers.
“Maduro and his representatives did not fully comply with the spirit or the letter of the agreement,” said a senior administration official who spoke with a group of journalists on background to discuss a sensitive diplomatic matter. (New York Times)
The U.S. was under pressure to snap back sanctions after Venezuela’s government refused to allow opposition leader María Corina Machado to run, and increased repression of critical voices, but the Biden administration hesitated in part because of domestic concerns with gas prices in an election year. (See yesterday’s post.)
The decision could also impact the number of people attempting to migrate from Venezuela to the U.S., another issue of concern for domestic politics, notes the Washington Post.
Yesterday’s actions essentially return U.S. policy to what it was prior to the agreement hammered out in the Caribbean island of Barbados, making it illegal for U.S. companies to do business with state-run oil producer Petróleos de Venezuela S.A., better known as PDVSA, without a specific license from the U.S. Treasury Department, reports the Associated Press.
The reinstation of sanctions means the Maduro government does not “have any further reason to make more concessions or even maintain some of the concessions that they have made so far,” International Crisis Group’s Mariano de Alba told the New York Times. “So we could be walking toward a more uneven playing field on the electoral side.”
However, the decision does not affect the oil giant Chevron, which is allowed to extract oil and sell it in the United States under a separate license. And the Biden administration is encouraging other companies to apply for “specific” licenses to operate in Venezuela.
“The administration is leaving the door open for U.S. and other Western companies to maintain a footprint in Venezuela,” the Atlantic Council’s Geoff Ramsey told the Washington Post. “It’s a delicate balance, but one that ensures that the White House retains leverage.”
Ecuador
The mayor of a small mining town in Ecuador was shot dead yesterday. The assassination comes just days before a national referendum asking citizens to ratify the government’s militarized crackdown on organized crime. Jose Sanchez was is the fourth Ecuadoran mayor killed in the year. (AFP)
“There are 150 local officials waiting for police protection according to the Association of Ecuadorian Municipalities (AME), which has urged the government to conduct a risk analysis for all of the country’s 221 mayors. However, progress is slow, with only 30 mayors currently under police protection,” reports El País.
Explosives buried in the Ecuadorean Amazon twenty years ago in a petroleum prospecting exercise has local Indigenous communities hostage, reports the Guardian.
Migration
The U.S. resumed deportation flight to Haiti today, for the first time since an ongoing gang insurgency forced the Biden administration to halt a flight with deportees and order the evacuation of U.S. citizens reports the Miami Herald.
Regional Relations
In the midst of regional diplomatic tensions, Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and his Colombian counterpart, Gustavo Petro, called on Latin America to reunite, speaking in the wake of Ecuador’s hugely controversial raid on Mexico’s Quito embassy. (Associated Press)
The two leaders emphasized their shared environmental ambitions at the meeting in Bogotá yesterday, in the context of the city’s Book Fair. (El País)
Argentine President Javier Milei reached out to Lula with the goal of reestablishing relations after tensions in last year’s electoral campaign and presidential inauguration. (Noticias Argentinas)
Guatemala
Guatemalan President Bernardo Arévalo has faced fierce resistance to his efforts to improve transparency and pass legislation. Despite some progress many of his most ardent supporters worry that a window for meaningful change is closing, reports Americas Quarterly.
Mexico
273 candidates to office in Mexico’s upcoming general elections have asked for government protection in a campaign season that has been the country’s most violent on record. Calculations vary, but up to 28 candidates have been assassinated since last year. (EFE)
Panama
Panama’s presidential frontrunner José Raúl Mulino, former President Ricardo Martinelli’s protege, promised to “close” the Darién Gap. But experts said the proposal is unworkable and potentially dangerous, reports the Guardian. “I have no idea what’s in their heads,” said Juan Pappier, the Americas deputy director at Human Rights Watch. “Closing the Darién Gap is virtually impossible.”
Brazil
A Brazilian woman wheeled her uncle’s corpse into a bank in a macabre effort to empty his account — social media is having a field day, reports the Guardian.
Culture Corner
Alejandro Cegarra’s The Two Walls is one the winners of this year’s World Press Photo awards. — Guardian