Sanctions against Venezuela: Maduro announces resumption of dialogue with Washington

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro announced Monday the resumption of talks with the United States despite Washington’s sanctions against the oil sector and less than a month before the July 28 presidential election.

“Next Wednesday, talks with the United States will resume so that they respect the agreements signed in Qatar and to reestablish the terms of dialogue with respect without manipulation,” Nicolas Maduro said on television.

The president said that Washington was behind the proposal to resume negotiations and that Caracas had chosen to accept it after “thinking about it for two months.” “We will discuss and seek new agreements so that everything is respected, (in particular) what was signed in Qatar” in September, he assured.

Venezuela and the United States began secret negotiations last year in Qatar. During these discussions, they agreed on a prisoner exchange: Washington released Alex Saab, accused of being Nicolas Maduro’s front man, in exchange for the release of 28 prisoners, 10 Americans and 18 Venezuelans imprisoned in Venezuela. In exchange, the United States eased the oil embargo imposed on the country since 2019 in an attempt to oust President Maduro from power, whose re-election in 2018 it did not recognize.

Conditional release

Washington then reimposed sanctions in April after it said the Venezuelan government had failed to allow the main opposition leader, Maria Corina Machado, to run in the presidential election.

Washington made the lifting of sanctions conditional on the qualification of all members of the opposition, but Venezuela condemned this measure and denounced “the pretension of the United States to monitor, place under guardianship, control and manipulate the Venezuelan oil industry through its illegal policy of imposing coercive measures and licenses.”

Nicolas Maduro said on Monday that he wanted “dialogue, understanding, a future for our relations, changes under absolute sovereignty and independence.”

The Venezuelan government will be represented by the president of the parliament, Jorge Rodriguez, and by the governor of the state of Miranda (central north), Hector Rodriguez.

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