The Biden administration has decided not to renew the sanction-lifting general license with Venezuela.
Senior administration officials said on April 17 that the Nicolás Maduro regime in Venezuela failed to meet the conditions set in the Barbados Agreement signed in October 2023, specifically in ensuring free and fair elections later this year.
The Biden administration said the U.S. Department of the Treasury would be issuing a new general license that 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.”
U.S. Department of State spokesman Matthew Miller released a statement confirming that General License 44 would expire at 12:01 a.m. on April 18, and once again calling upon Mr. Maduro to release all political prisoners “without restrictions or delay” and allow all candidates and parties to participate in the election.
“We will continue to support Venezuelans’ aspirations for a more democratic, stable, and prosperous Venezuela,” Mr. Miller said. “We and our partners in the international community urge Maduro to uphold all the commitments made under the electoral roadmap established by the signatories of the Barbados Agreement.”
The South American nation was sanctioned in 2019 by then-President Donald Trump in response to Mr. Maduro’s corruption. However, under President Biden, the Treasury Department issued a six-month general license temporarily authorizing transactions involving Venezuelan oil and gas.
Loss of Confidence in Venezuela
Secretary of State Antony Blinken emphasized that the lifting of sanctions was a “concrete step toward resolution of Venezuela’s political, economic, and humanitarian crisis and urged the country to release all wrongfully detained U.S. nationals as well as Venezuelan political prisoners,” although the deal did not mention the release of the at least four Americans who were being detained at that time.Mr. Blinken also said that the United States and the international community would “closely follow” Venezuela’s progress and that the U.S. government would “take action if commitments under the electoral roadmap and with respect to political prisoners are not met.”
Senior administration officials said on April 17 that the decision not to renew the general license should signify that they no longer believe that Venezuela will have a “competitive and inclusive election.” They said they plan to continue to “engage with all stakeholders” to help the Venezuelan people “ensure a better future,” and they affirmed their position that “the Barbados agreements still represent the best available path for a more democratic, secure, and prosperous Venezuela.”
Any activity with respect to Venezuela’s oil and gas sector allowed under General License 44 must cease by May 31. However, another senior administration official clarified that this does not necessarily mean that all oil and gas-related business would end.
Individual companies can apply for specific licenses to engage in activities regarding Venezuela’s oil and gas sector with the Office of Foreign Assets Control.
“The process of evaluating a specific license included is not public, but it does include taking into consideration the national security interest and foreign policy interests of the United States through close consultation with and receipt of foreign policy guidance,” the senior administration official said. That official was unable to clarify the status of those case-by-case licenses.
Energy Production
A new report from the Institute for Energy Research shows that President Joe Biden has taken more than 200 actions against the U.S. oil and gas industry since he took office in January 2021, beginning with revoking the March 2019 permit for the Keystone Pipeline and canceling all oil and gas leasing activities in Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.He also reversed the decreased regulations under a Trump-era executive order on his first day in office, and he canceled new oil and gas leases on public lands and offshore waters.
“It is remarkable that during these dangerous times the Biden Admin is more focused on sanctioning Alaska and Alaskans than sanctions on the terrorist regimes in Iran and Venezuela—allowing them to drill baby drill!” Mr. Sullivan posted on X, formerly known as Twitter.
In the lead-up to the administration’s decision, seven senators led by Mr. Sullivan submitted a letter urging President Biden not to renew the general license with Venezuela, arguing that the Maduro regime “has failed to uphold its promises and deliberately violated the boundaries of that agreement.”
Sens. Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.), John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), Pete Ricketts (R-Neb.), Jim Risch (R-Idaho), Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), and Rick Scott (R-Fla.) co-signed the letter.
“We must not cede American leverage by lifting U.S. sanctions while the Maduro government deliberately disregards its obligations,” the letter states. “If the U.S. fails to take a credible stance on ensuring free and fair elections are held in Venezuela, the prospects of a democratic Venezuela will continue to diminish, which will further embolden authoritarian aggressors such as the People’s Republic of China (PRC), Iran, and Russia.”
Senior administration officials declined to speculate as to how the termination of the general license would affect global oil prices or how the move could affect the influx of illegal immigrants from the nation to the United States.
