Maduro glimpses political lifeline as US rethinks Venezuela policy
Putin’s war on Ukraine and political deadlock in Caracas have combined to herald a new dawn in US-Venezuela ties
Tom Phillips, Patrick Wintour and Julian Borger in Washington
Thu 19 May 2022 05.15 EDT
It was little more than a year ago that US officials were publicly rubbishing the prospect of engagement with Venezuela’s President Nicolás Maduro, who they described as a “dictator”.
“His repression, corruption and mismanagement have generated one of the most dire humanitarian crises this hemisphere has seen,” the state department spokesperson, Ned Price, declared in February 2021. “We certainly don’t expect any contact with Maduro anytime soon.”
Yet 2022 appears to have heralded a new dawn for Washington-Caracas ties, as geopolitical shifts caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and political deadlock in the economically devastated South American country prompt a major policy rethink from members of Joe Biden’s administration – and offer Venezuela’s authoritarian leader a once improbable political lifeline.
On Tuesday, the US announced a gentle easing of the economic sanctions it has spent years using to push for political change in Venezuela – including against a nephew of its first lady – a move senior members of Maduro’s government celebrated.
More:
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/may/19/venezuela-nicolas-maduro-us-relations