US lawmakers protest Biden outreach to Venezuela

The US administration's diplomacy with Venezuela and potential sanctions relief for Caracas that the White House hopes will offset Russian oil supply appears to be a bridge too far for some senior US lawmakers.

"I am extremely concerned that the administration would consider purchasing oil from Venezuela," Senate Foreign Relations Committee chairman Bob Menendez (D-New Jersey) said at a hearing today on the fallout from Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

President Joe Biden today announced a ban on Russian oil imports into the US. With WTI at its highest since August 2008, the administration is considering all options for boosting global supply, including the politically sensitive relief of sanctions for Venezuela.

"The democratic aspirations of the Venezuelan people, much like the resolve and courage of the people of Ukraine, are worth much more than a few thousand barrels of oil," Menendez said. Senators Marco Rubio (R-Florida) and Ron Johnson (R-Wisconsin) likewise spoke out against potential sanctions relief.

Venezuelan state-owned PdV is ready to increase production significantly and work with the US to help offset any drop in crude supplies stemming from Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro said last night, after holding the first high-profile meeting with US diplomats since Biden took over.

The US administration is not considering a major change in its Venezuela policy, but is justified to look at potentially enabling US imports of Venezuelan oil, undersecretary of state Victoria Nuland told the Senate panel.

"The particular kind of Russian fuel that the US imports, or had been importing, was heavy fuel, and that is only produced in a couple of countries around the world," Nuland said. "If we want to ban Russian oil, if we do not want to have major economic impacts as a result of this war and the squeeze on oil around the world, we have to find a way to get more capacity,"

By Haik Gugarats