The government of Venezuela he signedtogether with the opposition, a preliminary agreement to ask for the sanctions imposed on the country in 2019 to be partially lifted, when the clash between President Nicolás Maduro and the opposition leader, Juan Guaidó, who was recognized as legitimate president by a large part of the international community, intensified. Sanctions were imposed on Venezuela by the United States at the time of Donald Trump’s presidency to push Maduro to organize free elections in the country.
Based on the preliminary agreement, the United Nations should set up a special fund through which Venezuela will be able to start investing the billions of dollars (according to Reuters at least three) which are in state funds on foreign accounts and which have been frozen since 2019 by European and US banks. The meeting between the government and the Venezuelan opposition took place in Mexico City, with the mediation of Norway. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke of the preliminary agreement as an “important step towards the return of democracy”. However, it is a preliminary agreement and the situation remains very tense and uncertain, also because new presidential elections are scheduled for 2024.
