February 21, 2024
Washington’s Ability to Pressure Maduro is Limited
The past few weeks have challenged the progress achieved in U.S.-Venezuela relations since last fall. Recent tit-for-tat measures taken by both Washington and Caracas signal a weakening of prospects for Venezuela’s return to democracy.
The Barbados agreement, which was signed last October between the government of Nicolás Maduro and opposition negotiators, was hailed as a breakthrough after years of stalemate. It called on the Maduro government to improve the country’s electoral conditions by allowing for the opposition primary to proceed and by creating a judicial review process regarding the disqualifications of several opposition candidates, including María Machado, who is leading in the polls. For these concessions by the Maduro government, the U.S. granted Venezuela temporary relief from select economic sanctions.
The U.S. approach needs to be accompanied by support for a robust and far-reaching effort at negotiation and reconciliation by Venezuelans themselves
While the content of the Barbados agreement was sketched out between the Maduro government and opposition negotiators, the actual breakthrough happened not in Barbados, nor in Caracas, but in Doha last fall, as a result of a series of meetings between Biden administration officials and Maduro representatives, facilitated by the government of Qatar.
Last month, however, Venezuela’s top court confirmed the electoral disqualification of Machado, violating the spirit of the agreement. The U.S. answered by restoring sanctions on Venezuela’s gold sector and by threatening to revoke relief from sanctions on the country’s oil industry.
Read the full article from Foreign Policy.
More from CNAS
-
U.S.-China Trade Talks Return to ‘Fragile Ceasefire’ – Former China Director
The United States and China say they've reached a "framework agreement" to avoid another 100% US tariff on Chinese goods. Officials have even been hinting of a trade breakthro...
By Liza Tobin
-
How to Choke Your Enemy: Why America Turned the World Economy into Its Weapon of Global Domination
Edward Fishman, adjunct senior fellow at CNAS, joined host Andrew Keen to discuss how America has turned the world economy into its weapon of global domination. In his bestsel...
By Edward Fishman
-
Trump Hits Russian Oil with ‘Tremendous Sanctions’
We are now learning that President Donald Trump’s Treasury Department will sanction Russia’s two largest oil producers, Rosneft and Lukoil. According to Trump, this continues ...
By Edward Fishman
-
Tariffs Are a Weaker Weapon than Trump Thinks
This article was originally published in Financial Times. This past summer, Donald Trump’s faith in tariffs appeared vindicated. He sealed lopsided trade deals with the EU, Ja...
By Edward Fishman
