US to Sanction Venezuela

After a Venezuelan Supreme Court decision regarding elections, the Department of State has decided to re-sanction Venezuela

United States Department of State Headquarters Credit: Creative Commons

In October, the US Department of State (State) announced it would lift some sanctions on Venezuela’s oil sector under the Barbados Electoral Roadmap. The agreement was based on a deal between Maduro’s government and opposition parties for the upcoming elections later this year. The deal between the US and Venezuela resulted in a prisoner swap in December.

Now, after the most extensive rollback of Trump-era sanctions, the US announced it would reimpose those sanctions after a decision by Venezuela's Supreme Justice Tribunal. The high court decided to keep a ban on opposition candidate Maria Corina Machado in place. The court upheld prior decisions that showed she supported sanctions and a US-backed opposition interim government. Venezuela blames the US for the ongoing economic crisis and the loss of foreign assets after the US government attempted to install Juan Guaido under Trump.

“Actions by Nicolas Maduro and his representatives in Venezuela, including the arrest of members of the democratic opposition and the barring of candidates from competing in this year’s presidential election, are inconsistent with the agreements signed in Barbados last October by representatives of Nicolas Maduro and the Unitary Platform,” reads a statement from State Jan. 30.

Under the conditions for sanctions relief in the Barbados agreement, Maduro’s government was required to free political prisoners, release US citizens that the US claims are wrongfully detained, and move toward lifting bans from holding office for opposition members. But as political tensions in Venezuela escalated between the opposition party and the Maduro government, three Machado allies were arrested on accusations of conspiracy hours before the court’s decision.