Lawmakers Seek More US, Foreign Sanctions on Venezuela
The leaders of the House Foreign Affairs Committee and the Senate Foreign Relations Committee urged the Biden administration late Jan. 10 to reimpose all sanctions lifted on Venezuela since November 2022.
Sign up for a free preview to unlock the rest of this article
Export Compliance Daily combines U.S. export control news, foreign border import regulation and policy developments into a single daily information service that reliably informs its trade professional readers about important current issues affecting their operations.
Rep. Brian Mast, R-Fla., and Sen. Jim Risch, R-Idaho, also called on the U.S. and its allies to "rally member countries of the Organization of American States to sanction corrupt individuals" in the government of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. The U.S. and its allies also should "work to persuade the European Union to increase economic and diplomatic pressure on the Maduro regime," the lawmakers said.
Mast and Risch issued their joint statement the same day Maduro was sworn in for another term despite allegations he lost re-election to opposition candidate Edmundo Gonzalez in July.
Twelve House and Senate Democrats, including House Foreign Affairs Committee ranking member Gregory Meeks, D-N.Y., and Senate Foreign Relations Committee ranking member Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., also urged the U.S. and its partners to continue to “expediently implement targeted sanctions on those individuals complicit in the violence that has taken place since July” against the Venezuelan government's critics.
The administration in October 2023 lifted certain sanctions on Venezuela’s oil, gas and gold sectors after the country’s government and opposition agreed to work together on conditions for a fair presidential election (see 2310180070). The administration later reversed some of that sanctions relief, saying Maduro had failed to adhere to the agreement (see 2401300014 and 2404170070).
The U.S. and the EU both announced new sanctions on Venezuelan individuals Jan. 10. The Office of Foreign Assets Control targeted eight economic and security officials helping Maduro keep control of the country, including the president of major state-owned oil firm Petroleos de Venezuela, S.A. (see 2501100019). The European Council sanctioned 15 individuals it deems responsible for undermining democracy, rule of law or human rights in Venezuela.
The EU action aims to "support a negotiated and democratic solution to the crisis," the council said. "The reversal of EU sanctions will depend on tangible progress in human rights and the rule of law in Venezuela, along with meaningful steps towards genuine dialogue and a democratic transition."