• Biden administration doesn’t want sanctions ‘in perpetuity’
• Colombia hosts summit in a bid to end Venezuela crisis

Patricia Laya, Bloomberg News

CARACAS/BOGOTA
EnergiesNet.com 04 26 2023

Washington will gradually lift sanctions on Venezuela if the country moves toward restoring fair elections, according to a top US official. 

The US doesn’t want to keep its curbs on Venezuela “in perpetuity” and would like to see the country prosper, US Deputy National Security Adviser Jon Finer told reporters in Bogota on Tuesday.

“We are more than ready to reduce and ultimately end our sanctions pressures, but it will take concrete, meaningful steps and ultimately free and fair elections in order to get to that,” Finer said.

Finer made the remarks after attending a summit organized by the Colombian government aimed at unlocking stalled negotiations between the Venezuelan government of Nicolás Maduro and the opposition. 

Representatives from 19 other countries and the European Union also attended the event, which was hosted by Colombian President Gustavo Petro. 

US sanctions have aggravated Venezuela’s economic crisis by hindering oil sales, though failed to unseat Maduro.

The government of US President Joe Biden envisions a “step-by-step approach” whereby steps toward restoring Venezuelan democracy are met by steps to ease sanctions, Finer said.

The US partially eased sanctions on Venezuelan oil exports last year after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, though most of them are still in place. This gives Washington “significant leverage”, Finer said. 

Colombia’s Foreign Affairs Minister Alvaro Leyva told reporters that participants at the event agree on the need for a timetable toward “free and transparent” elections and the simultaneous progressive lifting of sanctions. The parties will meet again in the near future, he added.

— With assistance by Andreina Itriago Acosta

bloomberg.com 04 25 2023