©Reuters. Venezuelan opposition presidential candidate Maria Corina Machado addresses the media, after a court upheld the ban preventing her from holding office, in Caracas, Venezuela, January 29, 2024. REUTERS/Leonardo Fernandez Viloria
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By Matt Spetalnick and Vivian Sequera
WASHINGTON/CARACAS (Reuters) – The United States began reinstating sanctions on Venezuela on Monday and a Biden administration source said the lifting of restrictions on the oil industry could expire, after the South American country’s top court confirmed a ban blocking oil from the main opposition’s presidential election hopefuls.
The United States had granted sanctions relief for OPEC member Venezuela in October in recognition of a deal for this year’s elections.
But that relief was contingent on President Nicolas Maduro’s government releasing some American and opposition-linked prisoners and progress toward lifting bans on a number of opposition figures.
Although Venezuela carried out a prisoner swap in December, the Maduro-allied Supreme Court on Friday kept in place a ban on opposition candidate Maria Corina Machado, confirming earlier findings that she would support sanctions and a one-man government. US-backed opposition interim, that Maduro government is responsible for the loss of Venezuelan foreign assets.
The arrests of several opposition members were confirmed on the same day.
In an initial reinstatement of sanctions, the Treasury Department said Monday evening that all U.S. entities conducting transactions with Venezuelan state gold mining company Minerven will have until Feb. 13 to shut them down.
The move came just hours after a Biden administration official said the Treasury license broadly restoring ties with Venezuela’s oil industry would expire on April 18 if Machado and other opposition figures were not allowed to apply.
“Unless Maduro and his representatives in Venezuela can get back on track, particularly with regards to allowing all presidential candidates to compete in this year’s elections, we will not be able to renew General License 44, which provides relief to Venezuelan oil and gas sector when it is renewed in April,” the White House official said on condition of anonymity.
The official said the United States is also considering additional unspecified measures to punish the Venezuelan government.
‘NO WITHDRAWALS’
White House national security spokesman John Kirby (NYSE:) said late Monday that US measures would depend on Maduro and his government.
“They have until the spring to honor their commitments,” he said at the daily briefing. “They have decisions to make before we evaluate what decisions we will make.”
Machado, a 56-year-old industrial engineer who overwhelmingly won October’s opposition primaries, said Monday he would not step aside in favor of a replacement.
“There is no possibility of withdrawing. We have a mandate and we will complete it,” Machado said at a news conference in Caracas.
The ruling is a “judicial crime,” he said, adding that there will still be many obstacles to overcome, but there will be elections this year.
Jorge Rodriguez, a lawmaker leading Maduro’s team in negotiations with the opposition, said before the Treasury decision that if Washington took “any aggressive action,” Venezuela’s response would be “serene, mutual and energetic.”
Maduro repeated the same rhetoric during his weekly TV show Monday night, without directly commenting on the Minerven decision.
(This story has been refiled to clarify the date of confirmation of the arrest of opposition figures in paragraphs 5 and 6)