Republican senators slammed President Joe Biden after his administration announced it would ease sanctions on Venezuela in exchange for “democratic developments” backed by socialist dictator Nicolas Maduro.
The Biden administration made the decision to remove the Trump-imposed sanctions on exports of crude oil and refined petroleum after Maduro gave concessions to the opposition Unitary Platform, agreeing to allow more transparency in the upcoming 2024 elections. The suspended sanctions mean that the U.S. will allow some Venezuelan oil and gas transactions and the trading of some sovereign bonds, according to the Associated Press.
“Our ultimate goal with sanctions is to bring positive change in behavior,” a Biden official said. “The United States government retains the authority to amend or revoke all authorizations should Maduro and his representatives fail to follow through on their commitments.”
The decision was criticized by Republicans who expressed doubts that Maduro would uphold his promises for transparent elections and hit Biden for restricting domestic oil production. Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski called the decision “beyond absurd.”
“They’re easing up on the worst regimes in the world, giving them the revenues to stay in power and spread terror and corruption, while kneecapping environmentally responsible development in Alaska,” she said.
Last month, the Biden administration announced it would cancel oil and gas leases in the Arctic National Wildlife Preserve and move to ban drilling in Alaska’s National Petroleum Reserve.
Republican Senator John Barrasso from Wyoming said that the move was meant to distract from the ongoing conflict in Israel.
“With Israel under attack, Biden is desperate for anything to mask the consequences of his reckless policies,” he said. “His latest gimmick is to ease sanctions on Nicolas Maduro’s brutal regime in Venezuela. America should never beg for oil from socialist dictators or terrorists.”
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The announcement also comes after Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-ND) introduced a bill that would ban the purchase of fossil fuels from Venezuela and Iran.
“The idea of importing oil from our adversaries is a complete slap in the face of working Americans,” Cramer said. “We should be using and supporting American energy, and any reliance on our adversaries for something as critical as energy is an obvious threat to our national security.”
Gas prices have remained high since Biden took office as Saudi Arabia has cut oil production, and the war in Ukraine has hurt supply. At the same time, Biden has slashed approvals of new leases for gas and funneled billions toward a “transition” to green energy.
Meanwhile, thousands of illegal immigrants from Venezuela have been entering the U.S., with 50,000 crossing into America in September.