US reimposes sanctions on Venezuela's oil after Maduro violates election agreements

For weeks, Biden aides have been discussing what to do after increasing signals that the Venezuelan government was not going to comply with the Barbados deal.

Maduro banned Machado from running for office despite her being the Venezuelans’ choice, getting over 92% of the vote during the opposition primaries in October. He has moved to block other picks by the opposition’s main political alliance, the Unitary Platform, so he can control who runs, all in violation of the agreement signed in Barbados.

Maduro is now scheduled to run in the election on July 28 against 12 unpopular or otherwise little-known adversaries that he can easily beat.

During discussions between Biden administration officials from different agencies, some voiced concern about the impact on world oil prices of reimposing sanctions — Venezuela has the world’s largest proven reserves of oil. There are also worries that the economic impact of reimposed sanctions would encourage more Venezuelans to flee their country and head to the United States so close to the U.S. presidential election in November.

A senior administration official said that “fundamentally, the decision to reinstate the sanctions was based on the actions and non-action of the Venezuelan authorities.” Another official called the decision a “proportionate response” to the lack of progress under the Barbados agreement.

Members of the Venezuelan community in Miami said that they saw the reinstatement of the Venezuelan sanctions as the logical reaction to Maduro’s acting in bad faith.

“The sanctions should have never been lifted,” said Ernesto Ackerman, president of Independent Venezuelan American Citizens, a grassroots organization based in Miami. “The U.S. government gave way too much in the way of concessions, getting practically nothing in exchange.”

The breakdown of the Barbados accord does not come as a surprise to many Venezuelans who have seen in the past the failure of many similar efforts to engage the Caracas socialist regime into a negotiated solution to the country’s political crisis.

“Just like we saw a few years ago in the negotiation process held in the Dominican Republic, and in other failed efforts, the regime never meant to keep its word,” but was happy to make false promises if that would translate into obtaining billions of dollars in oil revenues, Ackerman said.

Orlando Viera Blanco, president of the group VeneAmerica, added that even though the sanctions are likely to have an impact on the welfare of millions inside Venezuela, the regime’s actions have left the Biden administration with no choice but to reimpose them.

“The regime’s actions completely justify this end result,” he said. “A positive outcome would have been if Maduro had fulfilled at least at a minimum level what he had promised in terms of ending violence, putting an end to repression, and establishing a democratic transition, but that is not what happened, so we are now going back to the sanctions.”

U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Shultz, a Democrat representing a heavily Venezuelan district in South Florida and co-chair of the Congressional Venezuela Democracy Caucus, praised Biden for taking action to enforce the terms of the Barbados agreement.

“I know the people I represent appreciate the Administration’s commitment to amplify the voices of Venezuelan Americans who demand democracy,” she said. “I look forward to continuing my legislative efforts to complement the President’s policy, including the VOICE Act, which would sanction corrupt regime officials attempting to rig Venezuela’s presidential election and disenfranchise millions of Venezuelans.”

In Caracas, ahead of Washington’s decision, Maduro sent President Joe Biden a message on live television. He tried to say in broken English: “ If you want (the deal), I want. If you don’t want, I don’t want.”

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