U.S. meets Venezuelan officials to express concerns over electoral process

WASHINGTON — U.S. officials met representatives of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro in Mexico this week to express concerns about Venezuela’s electoral process, a White House official said on Friday.

The secret meeting was held as an April 18 deadline approached for the United States to decide whether to reimpose sanctions on Venezuela’s oil industry in response to what Washington sees as Maduro’s failure to make good on commitments for free and fair elections later this year.

The Biden administration has vowed to reinstate oil sanctions that it suspended in October unless Maduro makes progress on meeting his promises for the July 28 presidential election.

His government has set up major obstacles to participation by the opposition, including barring its leading candidate, Maria Corina Machado, from running against Maduro.

“The purpose was to express our concerns about Venezuela’s electoral process,” a White House National Security Council (NSC) spokesperson said of the meeting.

Daniel Erikson, the White House’s senior director for Western Hemisphere affairs, led the U.S. delegation in the talks, which were held on Tuesday in Mexico City. Bloomberg News was first to report on the meeting.

The NSC spokesperson declined to provide details on the discussions, including whether the participants talked about sanctions on OPEC member Venezuela or if any progress was made or differences narrowed.

The Venezuelan Information Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

U.S. President Joe Biden’s aides are still discussing a range of options ahead of the expiration on Thursday of a temporary U.S. license that has allowed Venezuela to freely sell its crude, according to people familiar with the matter.

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