Biden eases Venezuela sanctions as opposition talks resume

The Biden administration on Saturday eased some oil sanctions on Venezuela in an effort to supportnewly restarted negotiations</a> between President Nicolas Maduro’s government and its opposition.
The Treasury Department is allowing Chevron to resume “limited” energy production in Venezuela after years of sanctions that have dramatically curtailed oil and gas profits that have flowed to Maduro’s government. Earlier this year the Treasury Department again allowed the California-based Chevron and other U.S. companies to perform basic upkeep of wells it operates jointly with state-run oil giant PDVSA.
Under the new policy, profits from the sale of energy would be directed to paying down debt owed to Chevron, rather than providing profits to PDVSA.
Talks between the Maduro government and the “Unitary Platform” resumed in Mexico City on Saturday after more than a yearlong pause. It remained to be seen whether they would take a different course from previous rounds of negotiations that have not brought relief to the political stalemate in the country.