House Democrats Oppose Sanctions Relief for Venezuela
A group of 13 House Democrats urged the Trump administration Jan. 31 not to ease sanctions on Venezuela as part of a deal to return Venezuelans living in the U.S. to their home country.
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“We express our strong opposition to any plans to provide [the regime of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro] with the preservation of [Office of Foreign Assets Control] general licenses, which exclusively benefit transnational oil companies and Maduro’s inner circle, or other forms of sanction relief in exchange for collaboration in the administration’s program of mass deportation,” the lawmakers said in a letter to Secretary of State Marco Rubio and DHS Secretary Kristi Noem.
The lawmakers said they’re concerned that Venezuelans who are in the U.S. for humanitarian reasons could face unsafe conditions if returned to their home country. Reps. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Fla., and Darren Soto, D-Fla., led the letter, which was sent the same day that U.S. special missions envoy Richard Grenell was expected to meet with Maduro in the South American country.
Mauricio Claver-Carone, the State Department's special envoy for Latin America, told reporters that Grenell is focused on deporting Venezuelan criminals and gang members to their home country and securing the release of American “hostages” in Venezuela. Claver-Carone also said that President Donald Trump "has made very clear we don’t need Venezuelan oil, that we -- all the oil we need is right here in the United States."