Washington announced the easing of sanctions against Venezuela in response to the agreement of the government and the opposition of this country to hold presidential elections in 2024.
US deputy treasury secretary Brian Nelson said in a statement that “in accordance with the US sanctions policy and in response to these democratic developments, the Treasury Department has allowed transactions related to the Venezuelan gas and oil sector, as well as the gold sector.
In practice, this means that the US government allows transactions related to the purchase of Venezuelan gas and oil to be carried out for a renewable six-month period if Venezuela “respects the commitments made under the electoral agreement,” as well as those related to detained persons, he said.
As for the Venezuelan gold sector, Washington has not specified any duration.
The Treasury Department justified its decision by seeking to “reduce gold transactions on the black market”.
Under the sanctions relief, the United States also allowed the exchange of Venezuelan debt securities on the secondary market and in return maintained the ban on their trading on the primary market.
The US decision comes on the eve of the electoral agreement reached between the Venezuelan government and the opposition at the conclusion of negotiations between them in Barbados.
Under the agreement, Venezuela will hold presidential elections in the second half of 2024.
