Venezuela has freed two jailed United States citizens in an apparent goodwill gesture following a visit to Caracas by a high-level delegation from Washington, DC. One of the prisoners freed on Tuesday was Gustavo Cardenas, among six Citgo oil executives arrested in 2017 and convicted on charges of corruption that the US government said were fabricated. The other was a Cuban American, identified as Jorge Alberto Fernandez, detained on unrelated charges.
Their release came hours after Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro signalled an interest in improving relations at a time when Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has sparked concerns in the US over rising petrol prices. In a televised address, he appeared to indicate he was willing to accede to US demands that he resume negotiations with his opponents as a first building block for any relief from US sanctions that have been punishing the OPEC nation for years. US officials have not detailed any other specific outcomes of the talks, but said the release reflected months of relationship building, particularly involving Carstens, the US administration’s hostage-affairs envoy.
Carstens went to Venezuela last weekend with other administration officials, with talks focusing not only on the fate of detained Americans but on the possibility of easing US oil sanctions on Venezuela to fill a supply gap if Biden bans Russian oil imports in response to Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine—‚something he did on Tuesday. But the impetus for the outreach to Maduro, who has been sanctioned and is indicted in New York on drug trafficking charges, took on added urgency following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and ensuing US sanctions. The Ukraine crisis promises to reshuffle global alliances and add to rising petrol prices driving US inflation already at a four-decade high.
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