US sets date for Venezuela to meet sanction terms

The US could start reimposing oil-focused sanctions on Venezuela if the country does not move toward commitments for free elections and release more political prisoners by 30 November, a US official said today.

The US administration on 18 October lifted sanctions on Venezuela's oil and gas sector for six months, conditioned on plans for a fair presidential election in 2024 and the release of Americans and other political prisoners it considers to be unjustly detained.

Venezuela released an initial five political prisoners soon after the agreement, but no more since. And a Venezuelan court on 30 October suspended results of the political opposition's primary, which selected former lawmaker Maria Corina Machado as the winner. The government has yet to give assurances that she can run.

"We have taken a pretty big step to signal our commitment, but after 30 November, if those expectations are not fulfilled, we will have to take steps to dismantle that sanctions' relief," White House senior western hemisphere adviser Juan Gonzales said in a broadcast interview.

There are different options for this, he added, from completely reinstating sanctions to other options under discussion, he said.

Venezuela's government has publicly discussed few plans to comply with the terms of a deal crafted with its political opposition ahead of the lifting of sanctions. It has not referenced Gonzales' comments directly, but energy minister Pedro Tellechea said on social media soon after that Venezuela's "President Nicolas Maduro has been emphatic in denouncing blackmail against oil-producing countries."

The continued lifting of sanctions would allow Venezuela to increase its oil production from current levels of about 800,000 b/d.

By Carla Bass and Carlos Camacho