USA to reinstate sanctions on Venezuela

Venezuela

CARACAS, January 31, 2024 – The USA has begun reinstating sanctions on Venezuela due to a sustained ban on the opposition leader running in the next election, Reuters reported on Monday.

Venezuela’s Supreme Court voted to uphold the ban on Friday due to claims opposition candidate Maria Corina Machado supports sanctions and a USA-backed government.

US entities will have until February 13, 2024, to halt transactions with Venezuelan entities.

The US government has said that it does not plan to renew a licence that allowed for Venezuela to up its oil production that expires on April 18, 2024.

According to Vice-President Delcy Rodriguez, Venezuela will reject migrant repatriation flights from the USA from February 13 onwards, which had begun in October.

The Biden administration, which imposed sanctions in 2019, eased permissions on Venezuela’s oil and gas industry in October, stipulating that the government lift bans on opposition runners in the election and release political prisoners.

Due to the deal, oil output at Venezuela’s producing fields reached 850,000 bpd in November 2023, with the intention of ramping up output to 1 million bopd.

In December 2023, the Venezuelan government launched a referendum asking its citizens to vote on the nation’s claim to the oil-rich Essequibo region that is now controlled by Guyana, with the government claiming 95% of Venezuelans who voted were in favour of reopening discussions.

Earlier in January, talks between the two nations generated non-violence commitments.

The dispute between Venezuela and Guyana over the region began in the late 1800s when an international tribunal awarded Britain control over the region. In 1962, Venezuela contested the ruling.

The 160,000-square-kilometre Essequibo region makes up two thirds of Guyana’s landmass and is home to 125,000 of the nation’s 800,000 citizens.

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