The US on Wednesday said that it would ease some oil and gas sanctions against Venezuela after the South American country’s government and opposition agreed to hold elections next year.
In response to the “democratic developments,” the US Department of the Treasury “has issued General Licenses authorizing transactions involving Venezuela’s oil and gas sector, and gold sector,” and is “removing the ban on secondary trading” in debt securities, US Undersecretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Brian Nelson said in a statement.
However, it also said that those authorizations could be amended or revoked at any time if the electoral deal falls through.
Photo: Venezuelan Presidency via AFP
“Let’s turn the page, let’s rebuild a relationship of respect, of cooperation ... this is my message to those in power, and to the government of the United States,” Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro said, while also calling for a definitive end to the sanctions.
To uphold the agreement, the US warned Venezuela that it must “define a specific timeline and process for the expedited reinstatement of all candidates” by the end of next month, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement.
“All who want to run for president should be allowed the opportunity,” Blinken said.
The agreement between Washington and Caracas comes just a day after the Venezuelan government and opposition reached a deal in Barbados — mediated by Norway — to hold elections late next year.
That accord allows for the exclusion of some candidates under Venezuelan law, which would include opposition frontrunner Maria Corina Machado.
US officials speaking on the condition of anonymity on Wednesday said that they believed Caracas was planning to eventually allow such candidates to participate.
“Failure to abide by the terms of this arrangement will lead the United States to reverse steps we have taken,” Blinken said.
Later in the day, five jailed opposition figures were released, according to a social media post by Gerardo Blyde, who represents the opposition in talks with the Venezuelan government.
Among them were journalist Roland Carreno and former lawmaker Juan Requesens, who was imprisoned in 2018.
In concrete terms, the sanctions easing means the US government is reauthorizing the purchase of Venezuelan oil and gas for six months, which might be renewed “only if Venezuela meets its commitments under the electoral roadmap as well as other commitments with respect to those who are wrongfully detained.”
Regarding the gold sector, no time limit has been specified, with the US Department of Treasury saying that it seeks to reduce black-market trading.
Airlines in Australia, Hong Kong, India, Malaysia and Singapore yesterday canceled flights to and from the Indonesian island of Bali, after a nearby volcano catapulted an ash tower into the sky. Australia’s Jetstar, Qantas and Virgin Australia all grounded flights after Mount Lewotobi Laki-Laki on Flores island spewed a 9km tower a day earlier. Malaysia Airlines, AirAsia, India’s IndiGo and Singapore’s Scoot also listed flights as canceled. “Volcanic ash poses a significant threat to safe operations of the aircraft in the vicinity of volcanic clouds,” AirAsia said as it announced several cancelations. Multiple eruptions from the 1,703m twin-peaked volcano in
A plane bringing Israeli soccer supporters home from Amsterdam landed at Israel’s Ben Gurion airport on Friday after a night of violence that Israeli and Dutch officials condemned as “anti-Semitic.” Dutch police said 62 arrests were made in connection with the violence, which erupted after a UEFA Europa League soccer tie between Amsterdam club Ajax and Maccabi Tel Aviv. Israeli flag carrier El Al said it was sending six planes to the Netherlands to bring the fans home, after the first flight carrying evacuees landed on Friday afternoon, the Israeli Airports Authority said. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also ordered
Former US House of Representatives speaker Nancy Pelosi said if US President Joe Biden had ended his re-election bid sooner, the Democratic Party could have held a competitive nominating process to choose his replacement. “Had the president gotten out sooner, there may have been other candidates in the race,” Pelosi said in an interview on Thursday published by the New York Times the next day. “The anticipation was that, if the president were to step aside, that there would be an open primary,” she said. Pelosi said she thought the Democratic candidate, US Vice President Kamala Harris, “would have done
Farmer Liu Bingyong used to make a tidy profit selling milk but is now leaking cash — hit by a dairy sector crisis that embodies several of China’s economic woes. Milk is not a traditional mainstay of Chinese diets, but the Chinese government has long pushed people to drink more, citing its health benefits. The country has expanded its dairy production capacity and imported vast numbers of cattle in recent years as Beijing pursues food self-sufficiency. However, chronically low consumption has left the market sloshing with unwanted milk — driving down prices and pushing farmers to the brink — while