INTERNATIONAL: Venezuela has released two jailed U.S. citizens on Tuesday in an apparent goodwill gesture toward the Biden administration following a visit to Caracas by a high-level U.S. delegation.
One of the freed prisoners was Gustavo Cardenas, among six Citgo oil executives arrested in 2017 and has convicted on charges the U.S. government says were fabricated. The other was a Cuban American, identified as Jorge Alberto Fernandez, detained on unrelated charges.
The weekend visit by the U.S. delegation have focused not only on the fate of detained Americans but on the possibility of easing U.S. oil sanctions on the OPEC member to fill a supply gap after Biden bans Russian oil imports in response to Moscow's invasion of Ukraine , which he did on Tuesday. Venezuela is Russia's closest ally in South America.
Washington has sought the release of at least nine men, including those known as the "Citgo 6," two former Green Berets and a former U.S. Marine.
The freeing of the two could set a more positive tone for talks between the United States and Venezuela, which have had hostile relations through successive American administrations.
The U.S. delegation, the highest-ranking to travel to Venezuela in recent years, met the detainees on Sunday in a Venezuelan prison. U.S. hostage envoy Roger Carstens was part of the group, and he was believed to have stayed behind to finalize the release.
Tuesday’s release followed talks with socialist President Nicolas Maduro on Saturday as the Biden administration sought ways to stave off the impact of soaring U.S. gasoline prices spurred by efforts by the West to punish Russia for its invasion of Ukraine.
Biden ramped up the pressure campaign on Moscow on Tuesday with his announcement of a U.S. ban on Russian oil and other energy imports. The ban could further increase prices at the pump for American consumers, adding to inflationary pressure.
Engagement with Maduro, a longtime U.S. foe, was also aimed at gauging whether Venezuela is prepared to distance itself from Russia.
But the Biden administration has faced strong criticism on Capitol Hill for its contact with Maduro, who is under U.S. sanctions for human rights abuses and political repression.
Senator Robert Menendez, a Democrat and chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee,has urged the White House not to pursue a deal with Venezuela.
Maduro, he has said in a statement, “is a cancer to our hemisphere and we should not breathe new life into his reign of torture and murder.”
The United States in 2019 has recognized opposition leader Juan Guaido as Venezuela's legitimate president following Maduro’s 2018 re-election, which Western governments dismissed as a sham.
