U.S. officials met this week in Mexico with representatives of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro to express their concern about the Venezuelan electoral processa White House official reported Friday.
The secret meeting was held as the April 18 deadline approaches for the United States to decide if sanctions are reimposed to the Venezuelan oil industry in response to what Washington views as Maduro's failure to live up to his commitments to organize free and fair elections this year.
President Joe Biden's administration has promised to reinstate oil sanctions, which it suspended in October, unless Maduro makes progress on his promises for the July 28 presidential election.
His government has placed significant obstacles to opposition participation, including banning the leading candidate, María Corina Machado, from running against Maduro.
“The purpose was to express our concerns about Venezuela's electoral process,” a spokesperson for the White House National Security Council (NSC) said of the meeting.
Daniel Erikson, senior director of Western Hemisphere Affairs at the White House, led the U.S. delegation to the talks, which took place Tuesday in Mexico City. BloombergNews was the first to report on the meeting.
The NSC spokesperson declined to provide details about the discussions, including whether participants discussed sanctions on OPEC member Venezuela or whether any progress was made or differences narrowed.
Venezuela's Information Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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