“concrete steps”
Psaki confirmed on Monday the 7th the press reports about the meeting with the Maduro government and pointed out that the issue of energy was on the table.
“The purpose of the trip that administration officials took was to discuss a variety of issues, including energy security, certainly, but also to discuss the health and well-being of detained US citizens,” Psaki told reporters.
Influential senators, such as Democrat Bob Menéndez and Republican Marco Rubio, strongly opposed the possibility of the Joe Biden administration resuming the purchase of oil from the Venezuela governed by the “dictator” Maduro.
In addition to being investigated for crimes against humanity, Maduro was charged by the United States justice system with “narco-terrorism” in March 2020, and the US authorities are offering a $15 million reward for him.
Asked on Sunday if the Biden administration was still looking for “some diplomatic compromise with Venezuela that would put more oil on the market,” Biden’s National Security Adviser, Jake Sullivan, limited himself to highlighting the release of the two US citizens.
“Any sanctions relief that we provide, as was true in the last administration and is true in this administration, has to be tied to concrete steps taken by Maduro and by the people around him,” he added on NBC.