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U.S. Confrontation With Venezuela

Death Toll Rises After Floods in Venezuela

  • Rescuers continue to search for fifty-six missing persons in the town of Las Tejerias in the country’s Aragua state after devastating floods occurred over the weekend; thirty-six people have died (Reuters)

U.S. Reportedly in Talks With Venezuela on Lifting Some Sanctions

  • Washington is considering allowing U.S. oil company Chevron to resume operations in Venezuela in exchange for the Venezuelan government resuming talks with the country’s opposition, the Wall Street Journal reported (WSJ)

U.S., Venezuela Swap Detainees

  • Following secret talks, Venezuela released seven Americans who were detained in the country and the United States released two family members of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro (WaPo)

Venezuelan Ambassador Rejects UN Report Detailing Human Rights Abuses

  • Venezuelan Ambassador to the United Nations Hector Constant Rosales claimed the report released by the UN Human Rights Council alleging President Nicolas Maduro’s personal connection to human rights violations had political motivations (Associated Press)

Venezuela Seeks Warrants for Petrochemical Executives in Colombia

  • Venezuelan Oil Minister Tareck El Aissami stated that Venezuela requested international warrants for twenty-three former executives from the Monomeros Colombo-Venezolanos petrochemical company after regaining control from opposition leader Juan Guaido on September 20 (Reuters)
  • In addition, tankers carrying 1.22 million barrels of Iranian crude oil and 2 million barrels of condensate are set to discharge in Venezuela this week (Reuters)

Venezuelan Intelligence Agencies Committed Torture, Rape of Detainees

  • The UN independent international fact-finding mission confirmed the use of sexual- and gender-based violence by Venezuela’s general office of military counterintelligence (DGCIM) and the Bolivarian national intelligence service (SEBIN) to torture detainees from the country’s opposition (Reuters)
  • Meanwhile, U.S. officials reported a significant increase in Venezuelan migrants being taken into custody at the Mexican border (Associated Press)

Brother of Former Venezuelan Oil Czar Arrested in Corruption Investigation

  • Fidel Ramirez, brother of former Oil Minister Rafael Ramirez, was arrested in connection to an ongoing investigation of a multi-billion embezzlement scheme by the state-run oil company PDVSA (Associated Press)
  • Additionally, both Colombia and Venezuela have announced the reopening of their shared border to cargo transport and air service beginning September 26 (Associated Press)

Venezuelan Opposition Leader Sentenced to Eight Years in Prison

  • Juan Requesens, a former lawmaker for the Venezuelan opposition, was sentenced to eight years in prison for his alleged involvement in an attack on an event attended by President Nicolas Maduro (Reuters)

London’s High Court Rules Against Maduro in $1 Billion Gold Battle

  • London’s High Court rejected Venezuela’s most recent request for control of more than $1 billion worth of the Venezuelan gold reserves currently stored in London; Maduro’s loss is a victory for the opposition leader Juan Guiadó, who appointed a rival board for Venezuela’s contested central bank (Reuters)

Iran Increases Crude Oil Supply to Venezuela

  • Iran has increased supplies of a type of crude oil that Venezuela is using to boost production at its refineries,; Venezuela is set to receive four million barrels of Iranian heavy crude this month, up from just over one million in June (Reuters)

Biden Extends Temporary Protections for Venezuelans

  • The United States extended temporary protections to the hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans who entered the country before March 2021, rejecting calls to extend those protections to later migrants who face deportation (Politico)

Two U.S. Companies Pursue Oil and Gas Exploration in Venezuela

  • Two U.S. investments funds, Gramercy Funds Management and Atmos Global Energy, said they will pursue oil and gas exploration in Venezuela conditional upon U.S. government approval, amid U.S. sanctions on the country’s energy sector (Reuters)

Report Reveals Venezuela Tapped 1.5 Million Phone Lines

  • A report published by the telecommunications company Telefónica substantiated long-held suspicions of wiretapping by the Venezuelan government, revealing more than 1.5 million phone lines were bugged in 2021; the report also exposes several thousand government requests for censorship and metadata access (Washington Post)
  • Separately, the U.S. special envoy on hostage affairs and other top officials traveled to Caracas, Venezuela to discuss the release of U.S. detainees and the resumption of negotiations with the opposition (ABC)

Venezuelan Officials Discuss Potential Border Reopening with Colombian President-Elect

  • Venezuelan officials met with Columbian President-elect Gustavo Petro to discuss reopening their shared border (Bloomberg)
  • Separately, Iran and Venezuela have signed a twenty-year cooperation agreement in fields including tourism, petrochemicals, and defense in a bid to resist pressure under U.S. sanctions (Reuters)
  • Additionally, the former decade-long mayor of the Venezuelan port city Guanta, Jhonnathan Marín, pled guilty to accepting $3.8 million in bribes in exchange for directing oil contracts to Venezuelan military and government officials, confessing as part of a plea deal requiring cooperation with a widespread corruption investigation (Associated Press)

United States Removes Maduro Ex-Treasurer From Sanctions List

  • The United States has lifted sanctions against Carlos Erik Malpica Flores, ex-national treasurer and nephew of the Venezuelan first lady, as the Biden administration eases economic sanctions to encourage talks with the Venezuelan opposition (Al Jazeera)

Venezuelan President Visits Qatar to Discuss Bilateral Relations

  • Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro is in Qatar to discuss bilateral cooperation. His trip to the region also included visits to Algeria, Iran, Kuwait, and Turkey (Associated Press)

Venezuelan Opposition to File Complaint with Inter-American Court of Human Rights for Attack on Leader

  • The Venezuelan opposition party will file a complaint with the Inter-American Court of Human Rights for a physical attack on its leader, Juan Guaidó, who is recognized by the United States and other nations as Venezuela’s interim president; Guaidó has accused members of the ruling party of involvement in the altercation (ABC)

United States Authorizes First Venezuelan Crude Oil Shipments to Europe in Two Years

  • Shipments of Venezuelan crude oil are expected to head to Europe for the first time in two years after the United States eased some economic sanctions on the country last month (Bloomberg)

U.S. to Ease Some Energy Sanctions on Venezuela

  • The move will allow U.S. oil company Chevron to continue operations in the country and is intended to encourage stalled talks between Venezuela’s government and its opposition (CNN)

Venezuelan Government Aims to Sell Shares in State Companies

  • The government is expected to offer 5–10 percent stakes in companies such as phone and internet providers, a shift from previous moves to nationalize the companies (Associated Press)

Venezuela Appoints Top Court Full of Government-Aligned Judges

  • The government-controlled legislature appointed twenty new judges to the Supreme Court, only two of whom are aligned with opposition groups (Bloomberg)

ICC to Open Office in Venezuela

  • The International Criminal Court (ICC) is investigating alleged human rights abuses by government security forces in Venezuela (Associated Press)

Venezuelan Opposition Presses United States on Oil Sanctions Relief

  • Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido, who the United States recognizes as Venezuela’s rightful leader, is pressing the United States to condition oil sanctions relief on political concessions (Reuters)

Venezuela Frees Two Detained Americans

  • The Venezuelan government released two oil executives after a U.S. delegation held low-profile talks to improve ties with the petrostate as global gas prices surge (Associated Press)

U.S. Officials Hold Rare Meeting With Venezuela’s Maduro Government

  • Senior U.S. officials traveled to Caracas to discuss the possibility of easing U.S. sanctions on Venezuelan oil exports and push for the release of six detained former executives of Citgo Petroleum Corporation, among other issues (Washington Post)