Although Venezuela carried out a prisoner swap in December, the Supreme Court, seen as an ally of Maduro, on Friday upheld the ban on opposition candidate Maria Corina Machado, confirming previous findings that she supported sanctions and thereby also caused the loss of money. is linked to the government of Venezuela for its assets abroad.
In the first reset of sanctions, the Treasury Department said late Monday that any U.S. entity that has transactions with Venezuela’s state-owned gold mining company Minerven will have until Feb. 13 to lift them.
The move came hours after a Biden administration official said the Treasury license, which has largely restored ties with Venezuela’s oil industry, would expire on April 18 unless Machado and other opposition figures were allowed to apply.
“If Maduro and his representatives in Venezuela cannot get back on track, especially in terms of allowing all presidential candidates to run in this year’s elections, we will not be able to renew General License 44, which provides relief to Venezuela’s oil and gas industry. industry when it needs to be updated in April,” said a White House official, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Officialhe added that the United States is also considering additional unspecified measures to punish the Venezuelan government.
NO SUPPORT BACK
White House national security spokesman John Kirby said earlier on Monday that the US response would depend on Maduro and his government..
“They have until the spring to fulfill their obligations,” he said at a daily news conference. “They have to make decisions before we weigh what decisions we make.”
Machado, a 56-year-old industrial engineer who overwhelmingly won the opposition primary in October, said Monday that he would not back down in favor of a replacement.
The court’s decision was called a “miscarriage of justice,” Machado said at a news conference, adding that many obstacles remained to be overcome.
Jorge Rodriguez, a lawmaker leading Maduro’s team in negotiations with the opposition, said before the Treasury’s decision that they were attentive to any decision by Washington.
“If there are any aggressive actions, our response will be calm, mutual and energetic,” Rodriguez added to reporters.
Maduro repeated the same rhetoric during his weekly television show Monday night, without directly commenting on Minerveen’s decision. (Reuters).