The Secretary of Energy of the United States, Chris Wright, stated in Caracas that the lifting of sanctions has no set dates and will be conditional on “concrete progress.” He maintained that the country risk has decreased and that the objective is to move towards a “representative government and free trade.”
The Secretary of Energy of the United States, Chris Wright, assured this Wednesday in Caracas that there is no established schedule to lift sanctions on Venezuela and that any decision will depend on the “progress” observed on the ground.
«There is no established calendar (to lift sanctions), it depends on progress. The idea is to use leverage to drive progress. The oil quarantine, obviously, is essentially already over,” he declared during a meeting with American journalists, after his meeting with Delcy Rodríguez in Miraflores and other economic actors in the Venezuelan capital.
Wright explained that, for now, Washington is choosing to issue specific licenses rather than decree general sanctions relief, “but if things move in a positive direction, that is the goal: to have representative government and free trade,” he said.
The official maintained that the actions taken by the United States have had an impact on the marketing of crude oil. «Now we are extracting Venezuelan oil and selling it at a much higher price than Venezuela sold it before. So the income that is coming from the sale of oil for the people of Venezuela has taken an enormous leap,” he said.
He added that the measures adopted since January 5 have “massively changed the viability of commercial business on the ground” and described the cooperation maintained in recent weeks as “extraordinary.” “The flow of funds represents significant and continued progress to address 25 years of problems,” he said.
Wright insisted that the risk of investing in the country has decreased. “I believe that Venezuela will go from being a very high-risk nation for trade to one of much lower risk, and companies will respond based on their own assessment of risk and benefit,” he said. He also stated that “the risk today in Venezuela is already dramatically lower than two months ago.”
Oil reform and political recognition
Regarding the reform of the hydrocarbon law, he considered that the approved changes “probably were not broad and clear enough to encourage large capital flows,” although he valued the process as a sign of reformist intention. “I think it’s a perfect symbol of the desire to push for reforms and move in a positive direction,” he said.
Wright reiterated that the United States does not recognize the current administration in Venezuela. “We do not recognize the current government of Venezuela, and neither do most countries (…) As laws change and agreements are respected, that risk will continue to decrease,” he stated. He added that if we move towards a “representative government,” the risk profile will continue to decline.
Wright also acknowledged the public’s skepticism. «If I had lived in Venezuela for the last 25 years, I would also have a good dose of skepticism, which I think is justified. The proof of all this will be in the facts,” he said. He also pointed out that during the day there was no talk of elections, although he admitted that this dialogue “is also there” and that the desired result is a “representative government.”
*Read also: US and Venezuela advance in oil and gas agreements after meeting in Miraflores
*Journalism in Venezuela is carried out in a hostile environment for the press with dozens of legal instruments in place to punish the word, especially the laws “against hate”, “against fascism” and “against the blockade.” This content was written taking into consideration the threats and limits that, consequently, have been imposed on the dissemination of information from within the country.
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