Menendez slams Biden administration over reported oil talks with Venezuela
Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) said Monday that talks between Biden administration officials and the government of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro "risks perpetuating a humanitarian crisis that has destabilized Latin America and the Caribbean for an entire generation."
"Nicolás Maduro is a cancer to our hemisphere and we should not breathe new life into his reign of torture and murder," Menendez said in a statement. "As such, I would strongly oppose any action that fills the pockets of regime oligarchs with oil profits while Maduro continues to deprive Venezuelans of basic human rights, freedoms, and even food."
Biden administration officials on Saturday were reported to have traveled to Venezuela to talk about the possibility of easing sanctions on oil exports from Caracas as U.S. officials increasingly weigh banning Russian oil imports while the Kremlin's invasion of Ukraine stretches into the start of its third week.
The White House was pressed Monday about its willingness to engage in talks involving Venezuela, as well as Saudi Arabia and Iran about oil deals with those governments in an effort to help ease skyrocketing gas prices in the U.S.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/menendez-slams-biden-administration-over-reported-oil-talks-with-venezuela/ar-AAUL31g
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