U.S. officials traveled to Venezuela for talks with President Nicolas Maduro’s government, Putin’s top ally in Latin America. Venezuela is an oil exporter whose re-entry into U.S. energy markets could mitigate fallout from a possible oil embargo on Russia.
The U.S. delegation was led by Juan Gonzalez, the National Security Council’s senior director for the Western Hemisphere, according to two individuals briefed on the visit on the condition of anonymity to discuss U.S. policy. He was accompanied by Ambassador James Story, the top U.S. diplomat in Caracas when the Trump administration broke off relations with Maduro in 2019 and recognized opposition leader Juan Guaido as the country’s legitimate president.
Carstens previously traveled to Caracas in December and met in jail with six oil executives from Houston-based Citgo, former U.S. Marine Matthew Heath and two former Green Berets arrested in connection with a failed raid aimed at toppling Maduro staged from neighboring Colombia. Maduro has shown little sign he’s willing to abandon Putin in his hour of need. He spoke by phone with the Russian president last week in a show of support and attended a rally in Caracas where Putin’s ambassador received a roaring ovation from ruling socialist party stalwarts
But such lofty rhetoric aside, the West’s sanctions on Russia, and bipartisan support for an all out oil embargo, represent a major threat to Maduro’s ability to maneuver as successfully as he has until now.
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