The administration is allowing for transactions related to Venezuelan oil and gas for six months. It said in a press statement that it will only renew this approval if the country meets its election commitments.
It also opened up dealings with Venezuela’s state-owned gold mining company.
The moves come after Venezuela agreed on elections reforms including provisions that may impact the government’s efforts to bar some opponents of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro from running.
These provisions do not directly lift the bans on these candidates, according to The Associated Press.
A Biden administration official said that the decision to lift sanctions was the best path toward legitimate elections and relieving humanitarian issues.
The move comes after the Trump administration imposed new sanctions on Venezuela’s state-owned oil company in 2019 as part of an attempt to pressure Maduro to give up power.
Maduro faces reelection 2024. He was previously elected in 2018 in a contest that the U.S. and others have described as fraudulent.
Bloomberg reported that the sanctions move could boost Venezuelan oil production by about 25 percent.
Read more in a full report at TheHill.com.
