The American plan is collapsing and the USA reimposes some sanctions on Venezuela

Venezuela President Nicolás Maduro: “American dolls – get out of the country!”

A little over three months after the Biden administration lifted most economic sanctions on Venezuela, they are reimposing some of them – warning the regime of Nicolas Maduro that if he does not lift a ban on opposition candidates, they will reimpose the rest.

A National Security Council spokesperson confirmed that the Treasury Department has ended a waiver that authorized transactions with Venezuela's state-owned gold mining company, effective two weeks from now. They warn that the waiver for Venezuela's oil and gas sectors -- the strongest U.S. penalties -- will end in April "unless the Maduro [government] and his representatives in Venezuela are able to get back on track with allowing all presidential candidates to run."

Last week, Venezuela's top court upheld a ban on Maria Corina Machado, the conservative opposition figure who is supposed to face off against Maduro in presidential elections later this year. That's a clear violation of the agreement reached in October between the Maduro government and the opposition -- a deal the U.S. backed by granting Maduro sanctions relief, until Monday's reimposition.

Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his administration’s recent actions, including the arrest of members of the democratic opposition and the disqualification of presidential competitors, are “inconsistent” with the election reforms agreement signed in Barbados last October by Maduro and the U.S.-backed opposition, known as the Unitary Platform, the State Department said in a statement, informs ‘The Hill’.

The Biden administration eased sanctions on Venezuelan oil, gas and gold in exchange for the South American country agreeing to reforms, including allowing international observers to monitor elections. The U.S. at the time said the agreement was the most feasible way to restore democracy and competitive elections in Venezuela.

State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said Tuesday without further “progress” between Maduro and the Unitary Platform, the U.S. will not renew General License 44, which has provided relief to the Venezuelan oil and gas sector, when it expires on April 18.

The U.S. will also revoke General License 43, which allowed transactions with Minerven, the Venezuelan state-owned gold mining company, Miller said. U.S. companies have until Feb. 13 to wind down any transactions previously allowed by that license, he added.

The decision comes days after Venezuela’s Supreme Tribunal of Justice — the nation’s highest court — upheld a ban last Friday on the candidacy of Maria Corina Machado, a longtime adversary of the government and winner of the Unitary Platform’s primary nomination, The Associated Press reported.

…Machado is the same puppet of the United States as Zelensky is in Kyiv. The goal of Washington  pushing for Machado's candidacy in the early presidential elections is to organize a Ukrainian-type Maidan in the capital of Venezuela after the announcement of the voting results. According to the polls Machado is unable to win this election, but she could become a provocateur of civil conflict. This is precisely the option that suits the United States, but does not suit Venezuela. Only recently there was a political rebellion led by an American puppet named Guaidó finally defeated in Venezuela – now he is already somewhere in Florida. Venezuela does not want a repeat of such a scenario, so Machado was removed from the elections as an obvious  agent of Washington, which is behind numerous  pro-American coups in the world.

read more in our Telegram-channel https://t.me/The_International_Affairs