Biden admin­is­tra­tion reim­pos­es oil sanc­tions on Venezuela over elec­tion infrac­tions

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Biden admin­is­tra­tion offi­cials announced Wednes­day that they will reim­pose pun­ish­ing sanc­tions on Venezuela’s oil and gas sec­tor, say­ing that the Maduro regime failed to uphold its com­mit­ments to hold free and fair elec­tions.
The Trea­sury Depart­ment had issued a six-month sanc­tions reprieve for Venezuela’s oil and gas sec­tor last Octo­ber. The autho­riza­tion allowed the country’s state-run oil and gas com­pa­nies to pro­duce and export its sup­plies for six months, so long as Venezue­lan Pres­i­dent Nico­las Maduro’s gov­ern­ment fol­lowed through on its pledge to hold “free and fair elec­tions” and allow par­tic­i­pa­tion from oppo­si­tion par­ties.
Biden admin­is­tra­tion offi­cials said Wednes­day that Maduro’s regime had failed to uphold its end of the agree­ment, thus end­ing the sanc­tions reprieve, known as a Gen­er­al License 44, at its six-month expi­ra­tion date.
The offi­cials added that Venezuela would be giv­en 45 days to slow­ly halt its oil and gas activ­i­ties, a ramp-down meant to avoid adding volatil­i­ty and price pres­sure to glob­al mar­kets.
After that peri­od, U.S. pol­i­cy and sanc­tions on Venezuela’s oil sec­tor will return large­ly to what they were pri­or to Octo­ber 2023, offi­cials said.
“After a care­ful review of the cur­rent sit­u­a­tion in Venezuela, the Unit­ed States deter­mined Nico­las Maduro and his re …