The visit was surprising: a few days after the start of the war in Ukraine, representatives of the White House took a flight to Caracas. The United States and Venezuela had not spoken to each other for three years. Diplomatic relations were completely broken: Donald Trump, then President of the United States, then his successor Joe Biden do not recognize Nicolas Maduro as legitimate president. But that day, the mission was good to discuss “US energy security“.
“We had a meeting that I could describe as respectful, cordial, very diplomaticannounced after this visit the President of Venezuela, Nicolas Maduro. We agreed to work on an agenda for the future.“
Because in the Venezuelan subsoil lie the most important oil resources in the world, precious when the Russian-Ukrainian conflict has caused prices to explode. The United States announced a little after this meeting a relaxation of the sanctions which they had decreed against the oil industry of Venezuela.
“So far the change is modest. But it’s a very strong turnaround“, explains Thomas Posado, doctor of political science. He gives an example: the American oil company Chevron now has the right to discuss directly with Venezuela, even if there are still a large number of restrictions.
“This change is driven by several imperatives.says the researcher. At the same time, on the one hand, the need to find new suppliers in the face of the fact that the United States is depriving itself of Russian oil. But also the fact of isolating Russia, Venezuela being one of Russia’s main allies in the Americas, and making Venezuela less dependent on Russia is participating in the isolation of Russia.
But that does not mean that Nicolas Maduro has become an ally of Joe Biden, nuances Thomas Posado: “The bond between Venezuela and Russia remains very strong. The new foreign minister (from Caracas), appointed a few weeks ago, was Venezuela’s former ambassador to Moscow. So we are on changes that are not diametrical reversals of the previous situation.“
And the massive importation – as well as the importation at all – of Venezuelan oil into the United States will not take place immediately. Firstly because it would be an electorally risky move for Joe Biden: the Venezuelan and Cuban communities in the United States, especially in Florida, are often violently anti-Maduro. And there are also technical limits for Venezuela, whose oil installations are in very poor condition today.