US urges Venezuela talks, sanctions on backburner

US president Joe Biden's administration is encouraging the two sides in Venezuela's protracted political dispute to engage in credible negotiations before it considers lifting sanctions, a senior US official said.

"Those who think the US will unilaterally lift the sanctions -- that is not a priority right now because what we want to do is encourage a dialogue between the two sides to reach a democratic result," Juan Gonzalez, the White House national security council's senior director for western hemisphere affairs, said in a recent broadcast interview with journalist Patricia Janiot.

And even though the Biden administration is retaining the sanctions framework installed by its predecessor, Gonzalez was keen to highlight a "big difference" from the previous approach.

"The previous administration talked about an international coalition, but everything it was doing was unilateral," Gonzalez said. "Among our European allies and the countries in the region, the international consensus was breaking up because of the political actions, the unilateral actions of the US."

Gonzalez stressed the need to target corruption and press for the release of political prisoners, citing in particular six jailed executives of Citgo, the US refining subsidiary of Venezuela's national oil company PdV.

"Unilateral sanctions have never worked in bringing about a transition or change of power in a country in the absence of a multilateral coalition and a much wider diplomatic strategy," he said.

The US imposed oil sanctions on Venezuela in January 2019 on top of financial sanctions levied in August 2017 in an effort to force President Nicolas Maduro to step down in favor of an interim government led by opposition leader Juan Guaido. Over 2020, the administration of former president Donald Trump tightened the sanctions, ending the year with a controversial cut-off of crude-for diesel swaps by non-US companies.

Despite the escalating sanctions, Maduro consolidated his political control, isolating Guaido and taking control of the National Assembly that he previously led. The US and the EU continue to recognize the Guaido-led assembly following December 2020 legislative elections that they deemed to be a sham.

Despite the talk of closer trans-Atlantic coordination on Venezuela, the US and EU remain miles apart. The EU has long urged talks between Maduro and his opponents, but recently called on the latter to make "difficult compromises." By contrast, the US still views Guaido as the country's legitimate leader and insists on Maduro's departure.

The opposition is already holding quiet talks with Maduro's health ministry, with the involvement of the Pan-American Health Organization and Unicef, to access and distribute Covid-19 vaccines. But some members of Guaido's coalition are resisting wider talks with Maduro, accusing the government of using previous dialogues to tighten its political control while persecuting its opponents.

In Washington, the US State Department is examining Venezuela's diesel and LPG shortages to determine whether the sanctions are aggravating the humanitarian crisis.

By Patricia Garip and Haik Gugarats