CARACAS, Venezuela - The U.S. government has decided to partly withdraw the sanctions relief that was granted to Venezuela last year. This move comes after the South American country's highest court blocked the presidential candidacy of opposition leader María Corina Machado. The Department of the Treasury has given companies transacting with Venezuela's state-owned mining company, Minerven, until February 13 to wind down operations.
In October of last year, the Department of the Treasury had allowed transactions with Minerven after President Nicolás Maduro's government agreed to level the playing field ahead of this year's presidential election. However, on Friday, the highest court upheld a ban on Machado's candidacy, dealing a significant blow to the prospect of a free presidential election in Venezuela.
The ban on Machado's candidacy was imposed by the Venezuelan government, alleging fraud and tax violations, and accusing her of seeking the economic sanctions that the U.S. had imposed on the country in the past decade. Machado, a former lawmaker and longtime government critic, won the opposition's independently run presidential primary with an overwhelming majority. Despite the ban, Machado has declared that she will stay in the race and described the court ruling as 'judicial criminality.' She believes that the ruling party fears facing her in a fair election.
The U.S.-backed opposition faction, known as the Unitary Platform, had reached an agreement with President Maduro in December to work on basic conditions for a fair election. This agreement triggered some sanctions relief in the oil, gas, and mining sectors. However, the U.S. government had warned that if the Venezuelan government did not reverse bans on Machado and other opposition members from holding office and release political prisoners, some of the relief would be reversed.
The U.S. government's decision to withdraw part of the sanctions relief affects Minerven, which was granted a license to engage in transactions. The impact of this decision is not immediately clear. The aim of granting the license was to encourage the legal trading of gold in Venezuela and eliminate illegal activities in the sector.
Sanctions relief in the oil and gas sectors will remain in place, but the U.S. government has stressed the need for the Venezuelan government to make the right decisions. These decisions include allowing opposition members to run for office and releasing political prisoners. The Organization of American States and several political leaders from Spain and Latin America have also condemned the court's decision on Machado's candidacy.
The court and the country's electoral body, the National Electoral Council, are seen as being stacked with individuals affiliated with the ruling party. It was the head of the electoral council, Elvis Amoroso, who signed Machado's administrative ban last year. Furthermore, the Attorney General Tarek William Saab, who is also a ruling-party loyalist, opened criminal investigations against some of the organizers of the primary election and issued arrest warrants for three of Machado's campaign staffers. Although a high-profile prisoner swap between the U.S. and Venezuela led to the release of Machado's collaborator and the departure of some campaign staffers from the embassy where they sought refuge, the whereabouts of three other staffers remain unknown.
Despite the court's ruling, the chief negotiators for the Unitary Platform and the government have expressed their commitment to continue the negotiation process. However, there is a disagreement between the two sides regarding the government's adherence to the terms of the Barbados agreement. While the opposition representative, Gerardo Blyde, claims that the government has violated the agreement and must reverse the court ruling, the government's negotiator, Jorge Rodríguez, insists that they have followed the accord and considers the court's decision as a thing of the past. Rodríguez also warned the U.S. government against interfering with Venezuela's internal affairs and called for the lifting of all unilateral sanctions.
The situation in Venezuela remains tense as the country prepares for this year's presidential election. The court ruling blocking Machado's candidacy has raised concerns about the fairness of the electoral process and has further strained relations between the United States and Venezuela.
