Pressure Builds on Biden to Repay Venezuela's Goodwill Moves
Pressure Builds on Biden to Repay Venezuela's Goodwill Moves
"Clearly at some level a decision was made to abandon some of the pillars of the U.S. policy toward Venezuela these past few years," said AS/COA's Brian Winter to the Associated Press.
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…
“Clearly at some level a decision was made to abandon some of the pillars of the U.S. policy toward Venezuela these past few years,” said Brian Winter, vice president of the Council of the Americas. “But until we know precisely what the Biden administration is trying to achieve, it’ll be difficult to evaluate how far this détente can go.”…
But even if a release of the remaining prisoners seems remote, Winter says there is a small window now to keep momentum building, as the U.S. gears up for a long geopolitical standoff with Russia…
Winter said Maduro will also have to show a real willingness to negotiate in earnest with his opponents and not use the talks as he has in the past as a delaying tactic to ease international pressure…
