Caracas, March 7, 2022 (OrinocoTribune.com)—The White House confirmed on Monday the visit of a high-level US delegation to Caracas this weekend to hold meetings with the government of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro on “energy security” amid the escalation in oil prices due to the Russian military operation in Ukraine.
The meetings were first reported by the New York Times (NYT). Reuters later provided additional details about US officials participating, and the issues discussed in the meetings, as the NYT did, without citing sources or providing facts demonstrating its claims. That created a lot of incredulity among many Venezuelans, skeptical of US mainstream media due the mountains of fake news produced by these sources, first against Hugo Chávez and now against the administration of Nicolás Maduro.
Jen Psaki defends the prospect of buying oil from Saudi Arabia, Venezuela, and Iran. pic.twitter.com/WrOEtP46Wj
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) March 7, 2022
The information was released at a press conference by Jen Psaki, the White House spokesperson, when asked about these direct talks between Washington and Caracas, the highest-level meeting between the two parties held in years. Just a few minutes after his self-proclamation as “interim president” in February 2019, Washington recognized former deputy Juan Guaidó in a failed bid to oust President Nicolas Maduro. This was followed by an increase in a range of illegal economic coercive measures (euphemistically referred to as sanctions) affecting the quality of life of millions of Venezuelans.
Psaki said that talks with members of the Venezuelan government “have taken place in recent days” and said that “they will continue.”
“The purpose of the trip was to discuss different issues, including, of course, energy security,” said the White House spokesperson. Meanwhile, reports indicate that the US is offering to “alleviate” illegal US economic measures against Venezuela in exchange for securing oil supply to the US amid the Ukrainian crisis and the new illegal sanctions imposed by the US against Russia.
The US officials, she added, also addressed the situation of six former Venezuelan CITGO (a subsidiary of Venezuela’s national oil company PDVSA based in the US) executives, five of whom became naturalized US citizens and one a US permanent resident, currently in prison in Caracas under corruption charges. The spokesperson avoided offering more details about the meetings with the Venezuelan government, one of Russia’s main allies in Latin America. However, reports also indicate that the US pushed for a date to resume the talks between the Venezuelan opposition and Maduro’s administration, paralyzed after Washington illegally transferred Venezuelan diplomat Alex Saab from Cape Verde to the US.
Psaki runs off to avoid more Venezuela questions. pic.twitter.com/zAdhqY4VRN
— Kawsachun News (@KawsachunNews) March 8, 2022
Reuters went into greater detail about the US delegates participating in the meeting: “A U.S. delegation led by Juan Gonzalez—the top White House Latin America adviser—and Ambassador James Story held talks at the Miraflores palace with socialist President Nicolas Maduro and his Vice President, Delcy Rodriguez … Roger Carstens, the special [US] presidential envoy for hostage affairs, was also a member of the U.S. group and made the case to the Venezuela government for the release of American citizens and dual nationals held there, including six CITGO executives.”
RELATED CONTENT: Inflation in Venezuela at its Lowest Since 2014 (+Colombia)
Reports on the negotiations also mention the release of Venezuelan diplomat Alex Saab, currently held under arbitrary detention in the United States in violation of international law, as one of the demands presented by the Venezuelan side. The release of Saab is a point of honor for the Venezuelan government since his detention in Cape Verde while on a special diplomatic trip to Iran (recognized by the Iranian country as such) to circumvent the economic blockade and secure medicines and oil supplies
Joe Biden using #Russia as an excuse to do the deal they always wanted to do anyway with the #MaduroRegime
Rather than produce more American oil he wants to replace the oil we buy from one murderous dictator with oil from another murderous dictatorhttps://t.co/HA7X71r2Mn
— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) March 6, 2022
Analysts in Venezuela and abroad see the move as an opportunistic decision by the White House to cut the ties they are burdened with due to the mistaken and failed coup approach launched during the Trump administration, with military threats and the recognition of a parallel government allegedly led by former deputy Guaidó. At the same time, this offer to Venezuela represents a US attempt to create friction between Venezuela and Iran with Russia, which seems unlikely to succeed when one considers the long list of US and European aggressions against these countries, and the strong relations built in the last 20 years between Venezuela and Russia.
economías criminales trasnacionales.
2.Venezuela jamas será un proveedor confiable de energía a EEUU mientras Maduro y el régimen estén en el poder. PDVSA es una empresa insolvente y sus recursos financieros están atrapados en el sistema financiero ruso. Además, el petróleo que
— María Corina Machado (@MariaCorinaYA) March 6, 2022
On the other hand, Marco Rubio, the extreme right-wing Republican senator of Florida, issued statements attacking Biden and saying that this was Biden’s perfect excuse to make an agreement with President Maduro. Likewise, the right-wing Venezuelan politician María Corina Machado completely condemned the meeting, claiming that Venezuela “will never be a reliable supplier of energy to the US while Maduro is in power.” Machado seemingly forgets that during Chávez’s entire administration, and much of Maduro’s, Venezuela was a major supplier of oil to the US. The only exception was the oil industry lockout of 2002-2003, promoted by Maria Corina Machado herself alongside her anti-Chavista friends in Venezuela and the usual foreign elements.
Undoubtedly, Washington’s move represents a tacit recognition of the Nicolás Maduro administration, a clear step towards the White House’s final admission of the failure of its Guaidó strategy, and a recognition of the geopolitical position of strength that Venezuela currently holds.
Featured image: White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki gives a press conference in Washington, DC, on March 7, 2022. Photo: AP.
Special for Orinoco Tribune by staff
OT/JRE/SL
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