Biden to Reimpose Sanctions on Venezuelan Oil and Gas

The Biden administration has decided not to renew the sanction-lifting general license with Venezuela. Senior administration officials said on April 17 that the Maduro regime in Venezuela failed to meet the conditions set in the Barbados Agreement signed in October, specifically in ensuring free and fair elections later this year. The Biden administration said the Treasury Department would be issuing a new general license which sets a 45-day “wind down” window for ongoing transactions with Venezuelan oil and gas sector operations. “We’ve remained in very close touch with a range of stakeholders to assess the Venezuelan authorities’ progress on implementing the Barbados agreement, which is intended to allow for an inclusive and competitive election in 2024,” one senior administration official said. “Over the past several months … we’ve completed a very careful review, and we’ve determined that although the Venezuelan authorities have met some key commitments, they’ve also fallen short in several areas.”...