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Eighteen legislators from the left wing of the United States Democratic Party ask President Joe Biden to lift the sanctions against Venezuela and continue dialogue with the government of Nicolás Maduro, while an influential Republican senator urges the president not to change the policy towards Caracas.
In two missives this week, 18 congressmen led by Raúl Grijalva and Jesús ‘Chuy’ García, and the Republican senator from Florida Marco Rubio, made opposition to the Democratic tenant of the White House.
In a letter dated May 10, progressive Democrats assert that punitive measures against Venezuela by the previous Republican administration of donald trump they only served to “exacerbate” the humanitarian crisis in the former oil power.
And they urge Biden to continue the “constructive engagement” of the White House towards Venezuela, after the trip in March of high-ranking officials from Washington to Caracas allowed the release of two Americans detained there for years, as well as the apparent commitment of Maduro to restart the dialogue with the opposition, suspended since October.
“It is clear that comprehensive sanctions have not achieved their objectives,” they note. In light of this, and the terrible human costs incurred, we urge you to lift all US financial and sectoral sanctions that exacerbate the humanitarian situation.
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ilhan Omar, Pramila Jayapal and Rashida Tlaib, known for their leftist positions, are among the signatories of the letter.
For his side, Rubio urges Biden to “commit that there will be no change in United States policy as long as Maduro continues to block free and fair elections,” according to a May 12 letter released Friday.
End of relations between the US and Venezuela
The United States and Venezuela broke diplomatic relations in early 2019, after the re-election of Maduro in contested elections.
Washington then recognized as interim president the head of the Legislature, the opposition Juan Guaidó, and imposed a battery of sanctions to force Maduro outincluding a de facto embargo on Venezuelan oil in place since April 2019.
Rubio, one of the architects of Trump’s maximum pressure policy against Maduro, also asks Biden to “publicly reaffirm” his recognition of Guaidó. And he deplores the talks of the US delegation in Caracas, led by Biden’s adviser for the Americas on the National Security Council, Juan González, as “silly”.
This trip took place after the United States ban imports of Russian oil by the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which fueled speculation that the United States could resume the purchase of Venezuelan crude, something later ruled out by the White House.
In March, Rubio and powerful Democratic Senator Bob Menendez criticized Washington’s outreach to Caracas and strongly opposed turning to “dictator” Maduro for oil.
In addition to being investigated for crimes against humanity, Maduro was charged with “narcoterrorism” by the justice of the United States, where a reward of 15 million dollars is offered for his capture.
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George is Digismak’s reported cum editor with 13 years of experience in Journalism