MIAMI (AP) – Pressure is building on the Biden administration to begin unwinding sanctions on Venezuela after President Nicolas Maduro freed two American prisoners and promised to resume negotiations with his opponents.
Maduro’s goodwill gesture came during a weekend trip to Caracas by senior White House and State Department officials that caught off guard Maduro’s friends and foes alike.
While the Biden administration is saying little about what was discussed behind closed doors, a smug Maduro – who has sought face-to-face talks with the U.S. for years – bragged that careful protocol was followed, with the flags of the two nations “beautifully united, as they should be.”
For the past five years, the U.S. has, with little success, tried everything from punishing oil sanctions to criminal indictments and support for clandestine coups in its campaign to remove Maduro and restore what it sees as Venezuela’s stolen democracy.
But Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has upended the world order, forcing the U.S. to rethink its national security priorities.