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U.S. officials met secretly this week with members of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro’s government to encourage him to continue negotiations over democratic reforms, as a deadline approaches to reinstate sanctions on the country’s oil industry.
Representatives from President Joe Biden’s administration and the Venezuelan government, including Daniel Erickson of the U.S. National Security Council and Maduro’s chief negotiator Jorge Rodriguez, were in Mexico City on Tuesday to discuss election terms, officials said. We met at
On the same day, Colombian President Gustavo Petro flew to Caracas with US support and met with President Maduro for nearly three hours, before meeting with opposition presidential candidate Manuel Rosales the next morning. The visit comes after Colombia took the unusual step of criticizing President Maduro for blocking several opposition candidates from participating in the July 28 election.
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro (right) and Colombian President Gustavo Petro shake hands at the Miraflores Palace in Caracas, Venezuela, on Tuesday, April 9, 2024.
The U.S. National Security Council declined to comment. Venezuela’s Ministry of Information did not respond to requests for comment.
On Thursday, Colombia’s acting foreign minister, Luis Gilberto Murillo, said the Petro government was in constant contact with the United States on regional issues, including Venezuela. “We will always play a constructive role within the framework of diplomatic channels,” Colombian Ambassador to the United States Murillo said in a radio interview.
President Maduro has been testing the limits of his agreement with the U.S.-backed opposition over the past year. María Colina Machado, who won an opposition primary in October, and her little-known replacement, Corina Joris, have been banned from running in this year’s presidential election.
Repeated violations have put the U.S. government in an increasingly uncomfortable position over whether to reimpose oil and gas sanctions in an election year when immigration has emerged as a key issue for U.S. voters.
If the suspension is lifted, Venezuela could lose a total of $2 billion in oil revenue by the end of 2024, said Luis Bárcenas, head of Caracas-based economic firm EcoAnalytica. Eduardo Fortuny, president of Caracas-based consultancy Dinamica Venezuela, said the licenses helped Maduro’s government earn an additional $740 million in oil sales between October and March. .
Manuel Rosales, governor of Zulia state and presidential candidate for the opposition New Era Party, speaks at a press conference in Caracas, Venezuela, Tuesday, March 26, 2024.
Mr. Murillo, who helped organize the meeting with Mr. Rosales, said Thursday that he has also spoken privately with Mr. Machado.
The United States has been urging Venezuela’s neighbors for months to pressure Maduro to back down. Venezuelan and U.S. officials finally agreed to meet earlier this week. The two men met on February 23, before Maduro’s government called for early elections and blocked Machado and Yoris from registering to vote.
Francisco Palmieri, mission chief for the Venezuelan Affairs Unit, joined the U.S. delegation, officials said. Jennifer Daskal, the vice presidential assistant at the Department of Homeland Security, also attended the meeting, one of the people said. A spokesperson for the Venezuelan Affairs Bureau declined to comment on Palmieri’s participation.
Still, there are still many unknowns about the election, including the participation of trusted election observers who will be visiting Venezuela starting this week.
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