Venezuela comes together on vaccine deal

Venezuela's government and the US-backed political opposition struck a ground-breaking agreement to purchase and distribute Covid-19 vaccines through the public-private Covax mechanism.

The two sides that have been at sharp odds for years had been quietly negotiating for months with the mediation of the Pan-American Health Organization and Unicef.

The new agreement is the first sign of practical cooperation in a protracted fight for political control in Caracas. Despite extensive US sanctions that have thwarted Venezuelan oil sales, President Nicolas Maduro remains firmly in power.

The opposition led by Juan Guaido said today it would secure a license from the US Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (Ofac) to execute the health agreement. Ofac administers the sanctions.

The opposition-controlled National Assembly headed by Guaido formally authorized him to "borrow" $30.3mn from Venezuelan central bank funds frozen in the US to access Covax vaccine supply and purchase specialized refrigeration to maintain it. Guaido's US envoy in Washington, Carlos Vecchio, said 12mn vaccines would be purchased.

One persistent concern among humanitarian groups is the country's growing shortages of diesel and gasoline to run power generators to maintain the cold chain and distribute supplies. The US ended diesel swaps by US companies at the end of last year.

The new agreement is "a major step forward," Geoff Ramsey, director for Venezuela at the Washington Office on Latin America (Wola), told Argus. "Hopefully the next step in this process is greater coordination on humanitarian assistance and other ways of addressing the needs of the Venezuelan people. With the country facing widespread shortages of diesel and other fuels, it's urgent that they break the existing stalemate and respond to the need on the ground."

The Venezuelan government was represented in the vaccine talks by the health ministry, which could not be reached for comment. Since February Venezuela has received a limited number of Sputnik V vaccines from Russia, a close ally.

Venezuela's official pandemic data is considered a gross underestimate of the impact on a country that was already in the throes of a severe humanitarian crisis.

Up to now, the opposition has tapped frozen Venezuelan funds mostly to pay for the legal defense of Citgo, the US refining subsidiary of Venezuelan national oil company PdV, and salaries for key officials. Some funds were also earmarked for local health workers.

Citgo has been controlled by the opposition since 2019, but multiple creditors are battling in US courts to take it over.

Maduro is not recognized as Venezuela's legitimate president by the US and other western countries. But outside of the US, Guaido's 2019 recognition as interim president evaporated after Venezuela inaugurated a new government-controlled National Assembly in January.

In announcing the agreement today, the Guaido-led assembly said the vaccination campaign should "guarantee the humanitarian principles of the administration and distribution of vaccines and political non-interference and also guarantee monitoring and unrestricted access by non-governmental organizations and health personnel."

The Venezuelan government did not comment.

By Patricia Garip