Venezuela freed at least two imprisoned Americans on Tuesday, according to information from the The New York Times.
The measure was generated as a new turning point in the relationship of the administration of President Joe Biden with the South American country, one of Russia’s allies in the Western Hemisphere.
The two Americans who are part of the group of six former directors of the Citgo oil company, sentenced in Venezuela for corruption, they were released on Tuesday, days following a White House delegation met with President Nicolás Maduro.
According to the AFP, it was confirmed that one of those released is Gustavo Cárdenas. A second release is that of a Cuban-American, Jorge Alberto Fernandez, who was arrested in early 2021 in the state of Táchira (border with Colombia) and accused of “terrorism”, sources linked to the case said.
The release of Cárdenas, who served as Vice President of Strategic Relations, comes following Maduro received a delegation from the Joe Biden administration over the weekend, which on Tuesday prohibited imports of oil and derivatives from Russia into the United States amid of sanctions for its invasion of Ukraine.
The conditions under which he was released are not known. Cardenas already Fernandez, if they are freed from charges or if they are released under judicial measures.
According The New York Times, This release was not part of the agreements generated with Venezuela in the framework of the negotiations to restart the sale of crude oil from the Latin country to the United States.trade deals that were banned during the Donald Trump administration.
In this way, Venezuela might eventually help make up some of the shortfall caused by the Russian oil ban. But industry experts warned that Venezuela’s oil supplies would do little to quickly rein in US gasoline prices and inflation.
The TSJ confirmed the sentence of 13 years and seven months in prison and a fine of two million dollars once morest José Ángel Pereira Ruimwyk, former president of the Citgo company, as well as the sentences of eight years and 10 months in prison once morest Tomeu Vadell, Jorge Luis Toledo, José Luis Zambrano and Alirio Zambrano y Cárdenas.
The United States has also demanded the release of Matthew Heath, arrested in September 2020 and prosecuted for “terrorism”, accused of being a spy and plotting alleged plans to attack oil and electrical installations, as well as two other military veterans, Airan Berry and Luke Denman, singled out for a failed sea raid to overthrow Maduro in May 2020.
This release was generated following the appointment established between officials of the government of Joe Biden in Caracas, with the Venezuelan president, where they spoke regarding energy security, at the precise moment in which the price of oil is skyrocketing as a result of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. .
The meeting took place over the weekend and, in addition to Maduro, his wife, Cilia Flores, and the president of the Chavista National Assembly, Jorge Rodríguez, attended.which will give more details on the exact content of the meeting in the coming days.
Regarding this issue, Maduro declares himself “activated”. “Venezuela will be at the forefront in initiatives to stabilize the oil market,” said the Venezuelan president.
In this sense, ratified from the Miraflores Palace the capacity that Venezuela has to increase its crude oil production to more than 3 million barrels per day “if they were needed for the stability of the world”. However, the sanctions that the United States has applied since 2019 have reduced said production to regarding 800,000 barrels.
For her part, the White House spokeswoman, Jen Psaki, confirmed at a press conference the delegation’s meeting with Maduro, but did not go into details either, beyond saying that several issues were discussed and that, among them, “without doubt”, was energy security.
The blockade of the energy industry of the South American country has resulted in a greater dependence on Moscow, so now Washington is considering formulas to reverse some of the punishments imposed.
*With information from AFP.
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