Caracas, October 19 (RHC)-- Following the announcement on Wednesday of the temporary relief of sanctions imposed by the United States on the Venezuelan energy industry, President Nicolás Maduro said the country is entering the oil and gas market with renewed strength.
The Venezuelan leader said it has to do with the issuance of four general licenses to suspend certain sanctions imposed on selected sectors. This comes in response to the electoral roadmap agreed between the Venezuelan government and a sector of the opposition in Barbados.
"Venezuela, with these agreements and these decisions that have been taken, enters with strength again the oil and gas market in a progressive manner," Maduro said.
For his part, the president of the National Assembly, Jorge Rodríguez, who heads the Venezuelan delegation in the negotiations, informed that the licenses granted refer to activities of production and sale of oil and gas for and from Venezuela, to the mining sector, especially gold, to the trading of bonds, as well as to commercial licenses of Venezuelan companies in the United States.
Earlier, the U.S. Treasury Department issued a six-month waiver to ease sanctions imposed on those industries in the South American country.
According to the Department's resolution, the licenses may be renewed upon the parties' compliance with their commitments under the electoral roadmap signed in Bridgetown and with what the U.S. considers the release of "those who are unjustly detained."
Washington's document refers to the authorization of "transactions related to the oil and gas sector in Venezuela." The second general license covers the operations of the state-owned gold mining company Minerven.
In addition, the U.S. referred to the modification of two licenses to remove the prohibition on secondary trading of certain Venezuelan sovereign bonds, debt and shares of Petróleos de Venezuela (PDVSA).
The day before, the government of President Nicolás Maduro and the opposition Unitary Platform reached an agreement on holding presidential elections in 2024 in the South American nation.
