The US is set to revoke a permit granted to Venezuelan state-owned gold mining firm, CVG Compania General de Mineria de Venezuela CA (Minerven), following the Venezuelan government’s decision to exclude the main opposition candidate from this year’s elections.
The licence, which was granted in October and included permissions for oil and gas production, was the result of an agreement between Maduro’s government and certain opposition members. However, the authorized operations are scheduled to cease by 13 February, as per a statement from the US Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control. A prohibition on the state-owned gold mining company was put in place in 2019 to stop profitable sales that maintain the military’s allegiance to the government.
The licence states that all transactions that are ordinarily incident and necessary to the wind down of any transaction involving Minerven, or any entity in which it owns 50% or greater, directly or indirectly, that are prohibited by Executive Order (E.O.) 13850, as amended by E.O. 13857, or E.O. 13884, each as incorporated into the Venezuela Sanctions Regulations, 31 CFR part 591 (the VSR), are authorized through 12:01am eastern standard time, 13 February 2024.
Maduro, on state television, criticized the opposition without mentioning the licence, saying, “They either conform to their caprices, or they ask for sanctions again, they are extremists who despise Venezuela.”
Maduro has been reneging on his commitment to conduct free and fair elections, imprisoning assistants to the opposition presidential candidate, María Corina Machado, and utilizing Venezuela’s supreme court to enforce a prohibition against her and others from holding office.
If Machado is prevented from running, the US will let a six-month energy sanctions suspension lapse in April, according to Bloomberg. A spokesperson for the White House National Security Council said in a separate statement on Monday that unless Maduro and his representatives get back on track, specifically allowing all presidential candidates to compete in this year’s election, the US will not be in a position to renew that license when it is due for renewal in April.
The Biden administration, by reinstating gold sanctions while refraining from acting on the more crucial oil sector for the time being, can demonstrate its commitment to reintroducing penalties without resorting to measures so severe that they would eliminate any possibility of negotiation.
“Despite having small practical impact, it is a sign that the US is willing to move forward in reviewing sanctions,” said Jose Ignacio Hernandez, head of Public Debt at Aurora Macro Strategy. “It’s more of an image thing.”
