Page 7 - LatAmOil Week 07 2021

LatAmOil VENEZUEL A LatAmOil

Fuel shortages are widespread in Venezuela (Photo: FEE.org)
It referred specifically to the actions taken by UN weighs in
the administration of former President Donald These statements came several days before Alena
Trump to restrict access to financial markets, Douhan, a UN envoy, published a preliminary
saying that aid groups had not been able to pro- report that attributed Venezuela’s humanitarian
cess the bank transactions needed to carry out and economic crisis to the sanctions imposed
their missions. It also pointed to widespread by the US and the EU. Speaking at a press brief-
fuel shortages, saying that PdVSA’s difficulties ing held to mark the release of the report, she
with respect to producing and importing petro- said: “Unilateral sanctions increasingly imposed
leum products had prevented the country from by the United States, the European Union and
obtaining enough diesel to keep public trans- other countries have exacerbated the above-
portation moving, sustain power generation and mentioned calamities.”
distribute food. Douhan did concede that mismanagement
Gregory Meeks (D-NY), the chairman of and corruption had contributed to the crisis in
the House of Representatives’ Foreign Affairs Venezuela. However, she also argued that the
Committee, cited the report on February 9, country had been in decline since world crude
when he called on the administration of Presi- oil prices crashed in 2014, before the US govern-
dent Joe Biden to ensure that trade restrictions ment first sanctioned high-ranking Venezuelan
did not complicate efforts to render humanitar- officials in 2015 and then imposed restrictions
ian assistance to Venezuela. He called the addi- on PdVSA in 2017.
tional sanctions imposed during Trump’s term The Trump administration tightened the
a “failed policy” and urged Washington to work sanctions regime in early 2019. It did so in
more closely with the EU and the Lima Group, response to the presidential election held in
a multi-lateral organisation formed by 12 coun- December 2018, which saw the incumbent
tries in 2017 in the hope of resolving Venezuela’s Nicolas Maduro gain a second term amidst
political and economic crises, to help deliver aid. widespread claims of voter fraud. Maduro’s
Meeks was speaking on the same day that main critic was opposition leader Juan Guaido,
the US State Department issued a statement who declared the vote illegitimate in early 2019
expressing Washington’s desire to provide the and assumed the post of interim president.
South American state with assistance, especially Washington backed Guaido’s claim to power
since the sanctions regime does not impose pen- and imposed stricter sanctions on Caracas,
alties on humanitarian aid. “[If] there are ways expanding trade restrictions to include PdVSA.
that we can provide additional humanitarian This move caused great financial hardship, as
assistance, if there are ways that we can further it severely curtailed PdVSA’s ability to export
alleviate the suffering of the Venezuelan people, crude oil, the country’s main source of hard
we will certainly do so,” it commented. currency revenues. Subsequently, the Trump
The department also noted that the Biden administration expanded the range of the sanc-
administration was conducting a review of tions regime to cover financial institutions,
sanctions policy “across the board.” It did not say shipping companies and other entities involved
when any decisions might be made on proposals in Venezuelan oil exports. As a result of these
to lift the curbs imposed last year on gasoline moves, PdVSA struggled to secure the parts and
swaps, but it did attribute the country’s problems equipment needed to keep its production, pro-
to the Venezuelan government’s long-standing cessing and refining facilities in good working
mismanagement of the economy and the oil order. Subsequently, crude output plummeted
industry. and fuel shortages became common. ™

Week 07 18•February•2021 www. NEWSBASE .com P7