WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 24th April, 2023) The Biden administration is ready to consider lifting sanctions on Venezuela if it sees steps by President Nicolas Maduro to meet the will of the Venezuelan people, National Security Council Coordinator for Strategic Communications John Kirby said on Monday.
"(I)f we see demonstrable efforts by the Maduro regime to advance the will of the Venezuelan people in meaningful ways, then we are willing to take a look at the sanctions. But it's still in place largely and appropriately so," Kirby said during a press briefing. "No sanctions changes, no policy changes to speak to today."
The United States will continue to hold people in Venezuela accountable for corruption, illegal behavior, and civil and human rights abuses, Kirby added.
On Saturday, Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodriguez said that Caracas has lost $232 billion since 2015, when the Obama administration imposed sanctions on the South American country.
In 2015, then-US President Barack Obama declared Venezuela a national security threat and ordered the US Treasury Department to freeze foreign property and assets of several Venezuelan officials. Washington has since expanded the sanctions regime.
In 2019, the US imposed comprehensive sanctions on the country, targeting its oil and financial industries as well as freezing its reserves, in response to a political crisis that saw Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido proclaiming himself interim president.
