© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro speaks during a meeting with Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi at the Miraflores Palace, in Caracas, Venezuela June 12, 2023. REUTERS/Leonardo Fernandez Viloria/File Photo
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The Biden administration plans to provide some sanctions relief for Venezuela’s oil and gas sector almost immediately in response to a 2024 election deal reached between the Venezuelan government and the country’s opposition, a senior U.S. State Department official told Reuters.
The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the U.S. is going ahead with a broad easing of energy-related sanctions but is prepared to reverse those steps if President Nicolas Maduro’s government fails to lift the ban on opposition presidential candidates and release political prisoners.
