The president did not provide details on how many people make up the delegation nor did he detail their identities, but he assured that Rodríguez is meeting at “this time” to address “various issues.”
Last March 5, the US delegation met with the Maduro Executive to discuss energy issuesas confirmed then by the White House.
According to The New York Times, that meeting occurred due to Washington’s alleged interest in replacing part of the oil it bought from Russiaa country he seeks to isolate in the midst of the war in Ukraine.
On that occasion, the delegations also spoke about the situation of US citizens and residents detained in Venezuela, including six executives of Citgo – a subsidiary in the United States of the Venezuelan oil company PDVSA – arrested in 2017.
Days later, two of the arrested Americans were released: the former Citgo executive, Gustavo Cardenas, who had been convicted of corruption; and the Cuban-American George Albert Fernandezarrested in early 2021 in the Táchira state (border with Colombia) and accused of “terrorism”.
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The United States has also demanded the release of ex-marine Matthew Heatharrested in September 2020 and accused of being a spy, of hatching alleged plans to attack oil and electrical installations.
Washington and Caracas broke off relations in early 2019, after Maduro assumed a second term in elections considered fraudulent by the opposition and fifty countries. The US then recognized the then president of Parliament, the opposition Juan Guaidó, as the only legitimate authority, and imposed a battery of sanctions on Venezuela to force Maduro out.
The measures included an embargo prevents Venezuela from trading its crude oil – which represented 96% of the country’s income – in the US market.
However, on May 17 the government of Joe Biden announced that it will relax some sanctions against Venezuela in a limited wayincluding one linked to the Chevron oil company, in order to promote dialogue between the Maduro government and the opposition that has been suspended since last October.
So far, it is unknown if the US delegation will hold meetings with the opposition.
