A new agreement between the Venezuelan government and U.S.-controlled opposition parties is raising hopes for an improvement in the country’s economic situation – and highlighting the cruel and unjust nature of the U.S.-imposed sanctions regime that Venezuela has been suffering under for years. This deadly policy of economic war must come to an end.
On Saturday, negotiators announced that a partial accord had been reached that would allow approximately $3 billion of currently frozen public assets held abroad to be used by a United Nations-run fund to purchase crucial goods like medicine and food. These assets rightfully belong to the government and people of Venezuela, but were essentially stolen by foreign powers hostile to the country’s socialist project as the U.S.-directed regime change push intensified in recent years.
At the same time, the Biden administration announced that it was granting a temporary waiver to the oil company Chevron to resume operations in Venezuela. At the beginning of 2019, the United States imposed an all-out embargo on oil exports, the most important sector of the Venezuelan economy in terms of generating national income and government revenue for social programs. The United States has also cut off Venezuela from purchasing essential chemicals and spare parts necessary for the industry to function. The license to Chevron comes as Venezuela continues to make efforts to revive oil production.
This agreement is an important achievement of the...
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