WASHINGTON — U.S. officials met with representatives of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro in Mexico this week to express concerns about Venezuela’s electoral process, a White House official said Friday.
The secret meeting was held as an April 18 deadline approaches for the United States to decide whether to reimpose sanctions on Venezuela’s oil industry in response to what Washington sees as Maduro’s failure to meet commitments to free and fair elections later this year. year.
The Biden administration has vowed to reinstate oil sanctions it lifted in October unless Maduro makes progress in fulfilling his oil promises. July 28 presidential elections.
His government created major obstacles to opposition participation, including banning its main candidate, Maria Corina Machado, from running against Maduro.
“The purpose was to express our concerns about Venezuela’s electoral process,” a White House National Security Council (NSC) spokesperson said of the meeting.
Daniel Erikson, White House senior director for Western Hemisphere affairs, led the U.S. delegation at the talks, which took place Tuesday in Mexico City. Bloomberg News was the first to report the meeting.
The NSC spokesperson declined to provide details about the discussions, including whether participants talked about sanctions on OPEC member Venezuela, or whether any progress was made or differences were narrowed.
Venezuela’s Information Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
U.S. President Joe Biden’s advisers are still discussing a range of options ahead of the expiration on Thursday of a temporary U.S. license that allowed Venezuela to freely sell its oil, according to people familiar with the matter.
No final decision has been made, the sources said.
The US granted partial sanctions relief in October in response to an election agreement reached in Barbados between Maduro’s government and the opposition. The agreement included the right of the opposition to choose its own presidential candidate.
The Biden administration’s diplomatic engagement with Maduro and the easing of US sanctions marked a major shift from former President Donald Trump’s “maximum pressure” policy.
Weighing into current U.S. deliberation are concerns about whether reimposing sanctions on Venezuela’s energy sector could spur higher global oil prices and increase the number of Venezuelan migrants heading to the U.S.-Mexico border.
The US in January reimposed some non-energy sanctions after Venezuela’s Supreme Court upheld Machado’s electoral ban over what it said was her support for sanctions and corruption charges, which she denies. Washington also condemned the detentions of opposition activists by Venezuelan authorities.
This story originally appeared on NBCNews.com read the full story
