WASHINGTON — Divisions within the Biden administration over whether to continue talks with President Nicolás Maduro in Venezuela have deepened since a senior U.S. delegation met with him in Caracas last month, U.S. and Venezuelan opposition sources familiar with the discussions told McClatchy and the Miami Herald this week.
The March 5 meeting in Caracas resulted in the freedom of two U.S. citizens from Venezuelan custody — and raised the prospect of U.S. sanctions relief on Venezuela’s oil sector amid a global shortage of oil and gas.
Administration officials insist that negotiations over the freedom of two Americans were kept separate from initial talks over Venezuelan oil. At the time, the White House said it intended to continue its engagement with the regime.
