US threatens to reimpose sanctions on Venezuelan oil

WASHINGTON (AFP) — The United States warned Tuesday it was ready to snap back sanctions on Venezuela’s vital oil industry unless opponents of President Nicolas Maduro are allowed to run against him, as the leftist government vowed to hit back through migration.

The sharp exchanges came just two months after the adversaries took tentative steps to improve relations following a deal between Maduro and the opposition.

But that deal has since collapsed with the barring of credible rivals from competing in this year’s presidential elections.

The United States announced it was immediately winding down a license that allowed operations by the Venezuelan state-owned gold mining company, Minerven.

The State Department said it was also ready to reimpose sanctions on dealings with the oil and gas sector, Venezuela’s key money-maker, but gave a deadline of April 18 for progress between Maduro and the opposition.

“There is still time for the Maduro regime to change course. There is still time for them to allow a free and fair election,” State Department spokesman Matthew Miller told reporters.

“We are hopeful that that’s what they’ll do, but if they don’t, we’re prepared to implement our sanctions,” he said.

Miller said that Maduro needed to abide by the agreement with the opposition, reached in October in Barbados, and allow other candidates to “freely participate” in the election.

Venezuela’s Supreme Court, loyal to Maduro, on Friday upheld a 15-year ban on sholding public office against the president’s main opponent in elections due this year, Maria Corina Machado.

The court also confirmed the ineligibility of a possible opposition stand-in — two-time presidential candidate Henrique Capriles.

Machado, after the court decision, accused Maduro and his “criminal system” of seeking “fraudulent elections.”

Venezuelan authorities responded by threatening to hit Biden in a sensitive area ahead of his own bid for reelection — migration.

More than seven million Venezuelans have fled over the past decade as the economy implodes, and a growing number have sought to enter the United States.