The United States has eased several sanctions against Venezuela after President Nicolas Maduro and his opposition came to an agreement on guidelines before the country’s next presidential election that the U.S. considered “democratic developments.”
The U.S. Department of the Treasury announced that it softened sanctions on oil, gas, and gold, “as well as removing the ban on secondary trading.” The department said it is “prepared to amend or revoke authorizations at any time, should representatives of Maduro fail to follow through on their commitments.”
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Maduro has been president of Venezuela since 2013. He has been called a dictator and tyrant for his efforts to remain in power, which allegedly include using violent force to quell opponents, stealing an election, and corruptly keeping his allies in prominent positions. An optimistic outlook is that the step to work with his opposition, the Unitary Platform, represents a change from Maduro to benefit democracy in Venezuela.
The Treasury issued a six-month general license “temporarily authorizing transactions involving the oil and gas sector in Venezuela,” and it will be renewed if Maduro’s government follows the electoral road map agreed upon, “as well as other commitments with respect to those who are wrongfully detained.”
The department also issued a second general license allowing deals with the country’s state-owned gold mining company Minerven, “which Treasury assesses would have the effect of reducing black-market trading in gold.” Finally, the Treasury removed the secondary trading ban on select Venezuelan sovereign bonds, but it kept in place the ban on the primary Venezuelan bond market.
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The Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control said its suspension of the sanctions was also “in support of the Venezuelan people.” All other restrictions imposed on the country remain in place.
“The United States welcomes the signing of an electoral roadmap agreement between the Unitary Platform and Maduro representatives,” Brian Nelson, undersecretary of the Treasury for terrorism and financial intelligence, said. “… we will continue to hold bad actors accountable. We stand with the Venezuelan people and support Venezuelan democracy.”
