The United States Treasury Department this Friday lifted sanctions on its companies to be able to exploit and import Venezuelan oil.
This measure represents another step in the rapprochement between the Administration of Donald Trump and the Government of the interim president, Delcy Rodríguez, who last week reestablished diplomatic relations between both countries, broken since 2019.
The department led by Scott Bessent lifted sanctions for the exploitation, sale, transportation and storage of Venezuelan oil and its refined products whenever it is imported into the United States by companies from that country.
The authorization includes transactions in which the Government of Venezuela and the state oil company PDVSA are involved.
The issued license stipulates that any contract must be governed by US law and disputes must be resolved on US soil.
In another license, the Treasury Department specified that transactions linked to Russia, Iran, North Korea, Cuba and certain actors in China are not permitted, nor with persons sanctioned by Washington.
Last week, the Trump Administration issued a license authorizing certain activities related to the exploitation and marketing of Venezuelan gold by US companies.
The relaxation of sanctions on Venezuelan crude oil also occurs in a context of turbulence in the world energy market due to the blockade caused by Iran’s war in the Strait of Hormuz, where nearly 20% of the world’s oil circulates.
The rise in gasoline prices led the United States to release part of its strategic crude oil reserves to increase supply and to temporarily lift restrictions on other countries so that they can acquire Russian oil sanctioned by Washington.
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