The Biden administration has promised to relax and lift sanctions on Venezuelan oil in exchange for electoral reforms.
According to a senior administration official who spoke to reporters on Thursday night, the United States will ease some sanctions against Venezuela, especially the oil and gas industry.
This action follows an agreement between the government and the opposition in Venezuela to have international observers present in upcoming elections. According to the Biden aide, this deal represents the best chance for free and fair elections, the return of democracy, and resolving the humanitarian situation in the South American country.
The spokesman said that the sanctions relief the United States will grant will be temporary and will only cover the oil and gas industry. The other restrictions and penalties that the United States has imposed on the country will also continue, the source added.
They maintained that punishments are meant to bring about good changes in the long run.
To force Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro from office, the Trump administration placed sanctions on the country’s state-owned oil industry in 2019. The United States has maintained that Maduro’s reelection in 2018 was fraudulent.
Earlier this week, rumors suggested that Biden is contemplating the easing of sanctions. The idea was immediately met with resistance from furious Republicans.
Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.), who was discussing a bill proposed by the Republican Party to prohibit oil imports from Venezuela., said that Biden is turning regimes that are genocidal, like Iran and Maduro in Venezuela, attempting to shore up our oil supplies.
Meanwhile, instability in the Middle East coincides with the easing of oil restrictions, creating some unpredictability in the oil market. If Iran is proven to have had a hand in the latest attack on Israel, experts predict that oil prices will rise.
