US Reportedly Weighs Easing Venezuela Sanctions After Ban on Russian Energy Imports

WASHINGTON, (Sputnik) - The United States is ready to relax economic restrictions on Venezuela after banning the imports of Russian oil and other energy products, but the final decision will depend on the outcome of talks between Caracas and the opposition, Bloomberg reported on Thursday, citing a senior administration official.
Sputnik
Talks about the oil trade are taking place on a broader level and American officials, who visited Venezuela on Saturday, did not commit to any easing of sanctions, the report said.
Over the weekend, a US delegation paid a rare visit to Venezuela to discuss a range of issues, including energy security and the health of Americans detained in the Latin American country, the White House said.
Late Tuesday night, President Joe Biden announced that Venezuela released US citizens Jorge Fernandez and Gustavo Cardenas, who was one of six Citgo executives arrested in the country in 2017.
A senior US administration official told reporters that Venezuela did not offer Washington oil in exchange for Americans detained in the country.
As a result of the US sanctions from 2014 to 2020, Venezuela lost 98.6% of all foreign exchange earnings, with the allocations of the PdVSA (Venezuela's state-owned oil company Petroleos de Venezuela) to the country's central bank over the past seven years decreasing from $56.6 billion to $73.4 million per year, or more than 99%. In 2019, the US Treasury took action to prevent Venezuelan creditors from taking control of PdVSA assets, among which was a US-based and most valuable asset, oil refinery Citgo with multiple locations in the country.
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