A “second partial agreement for the social protection of the people” could be found this Saturday, November 26 in Mexico City, between the Venezuelan power and opposition. And in the process, the American sanctions weighing on the oil sector of the Caracas regime began to be lifted. Washington has authorized the oil group Chevron to partially resume its oil extraction activities in the country of Nicolás Maduro.
In a statement, the US Treasury Department decreed that the giant Chevron was authorized to partially relaunch the activities of its joint venture held in Venezuela, in partnership with Petróleos de Venezuela (PdVSA), on the condition that “ PdVSA receives no revenue from oil sales made by Chevron “.
This decision was made after the announcement of a partial agreement between the government of the United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV) and the opposition in Mexico, and while the United States is looking for alternative hydrocarbons given the loss of Russian crude, due to the sanctions adopted since the war in Ukraine.
The inter-Venezuelan dialogue resumed Friday in Mexico City, while Caracas welcome, since Monday, the resumption of negotiations between the government of Bogotá and the guerrillas of the National Liberation Army (ELN). The current process began in August 2021 in Mexico, but Mr. Maduro suspended it two months later.
At the time, the Venezuelan president, after already unsuccessful experiences in 2018 and 2019, intended to protest against the extradition to the United States of Alex Saab, a Venezuelan businessman close to power and prosecuted for money laundering. The talks remained interrupted for fifteen months.
Representatives of the maligned President Maduro announced the agreement at midday on Saturday. In May, the US government had already allowed Chevron to “ negotiate the terms of potential future activities in Venezuela “, a first breach of the embargo on Venezuelan oil imposed by Washington in 2019.
In these discussions, the number one of Caracas therefore hoped for the lifting of American economic sanctions on his country, and in particular of the embargo on oil exports. The opposition demanded solutions to the humanitarian crisis, respect for human rights and guarantees for free and observable elections.
►To re-read: Venezuela: upcoming resumption in Mexico of discussions between Maduro and the opposition
While waiting to learn more, this Saturday, a senior American official described the agreement, according to Agence France-Presse, as an important step in the right direction. This dialogue constitutes hope for all of Latin America” and “the triumph of politics “, for his part reacted the Mexican Minister of Foreign Affairs Marcelo Ebrard.
With agencies