The Biden Administration will lift some sanctions on Venezuela’s oil and gas industry after the left-wing government of Nicolas Maduro came to an agreement with opposition leaders to hold elections in 2024, helping to further democracies around the world, Reuters reports.
The Treasury Department, the agent of the sanctions, will issue six-month licenses for the oil, gas and state-owned gold sectors in Venezuela, and it will allow some bond and equity trading involving state-owned companies. A Treasury spokesperson stated that it would maintain the ability to reinstate the sanctions if the situation reverses in the future.
The goal is a savvy one for Dark Brandon: it supports a struggling democracy and it opens up another source of oil into the United States, easing some market pressures and hopefully lowering prices… as the US enters an election year.