- US officials, including from the National Security Council and the Venezuelan Affairs Unit, met representatives of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro in Mexico this week to discuss concerns about the country’s electoral process, sanctions, and migration. [Finance Yahoo, The News Pakistan, BNN Bloomberg, Post Courier, Daily Mail]
- The Venezuelan government has banned the opposition’s leading candidate, María Corina Machado, from running for office, and has refused to register the candidate she deputized to run in her stead. [The New York Times]
- The Biden administration has vowed to reinstate oil sanctions on Venezuela unless Maduro makes progress on meeting his promises for the July 28 presidential election, but the regime has not upheld its commitments. [Daily Mail, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace]
- Democracy in Venezuela has deteriorated due to populism, the decline of institutions, attacks on civil society and the media, and the collapse of the oil-based economy under the Maduro regime. [Carnegie Endowment for International Peace]
- The crushing sanctions on Venezuela’s oil sector, designed by the Trump administration to shut down Venezuela’s economy and push Maduro out of power, are partly to blame for the migrant crisis at the U.S. border, as they have hurt ordinary people and failed to topple Maduro. [The New York Times]
- The Biden administration’s diplomatic engagement with Maduro and the easing of US sanctions marked a major shift away from Trump’s “maximum pressure” policy, but the regime has not upheld its commitments. [Daily Mail, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace]
Sources:
- The New York Times [English]
- Finance Yahoo [English]
- The News Pakistan [English]
- BNN Bloomberg [English]
- Post Courier [English]
- Daily Mail [English]
- Carnegie Endowment for International Peace [English]
Links:
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/04/17/opinion/venezuela-oil-sanctions.html
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/1-us-meets-venezuelan-officials-130631446.html
https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/venezuela-confirms-meeting-with-us-says-qatar-deal-breached-1.2058687https://www.dailymail.co.uk/wires/reuters/article-13301431/US-meets-Venezuelan-officials-express-concerns-electoral-process–White-House.html
