Biden move to lift Venezuela oil sanctions meets criticism from Manchin, Republicans

The Biden administration’s decision to lift sanctions on Venezuelan oil is garnering pushback from energy and foreign policy hawks.

The administration announced late Wednesday that it would temporarily ease sanctions on oil and gas, as well as gold, in Venezuela after the country recently agreed to election reforms. 

Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro’s government agreed to reforms including allowing international observers to monitor elections in the South American country.

But opponents of the Biden administration’s move, particularly Republicans, expressed doubt about the fairness of the upcoming Venezuelan election and argued that the U.S.’s energy policy should focus on domestic production. 

Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) lamented that a ban against a leading opposition candidate was not lifted as part of the agreement. 

“If María Corina Machado isn’t allowed to run for president, those aren’t real elections,” he said. “Maduro got what he wanted.”

Machado was barred in June from holding office. The Venezuelan government said at the time that the ban was because she supported U.S. sanctions. 

Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), meanwhile, told The Hill that the decision “shows once again” that President Biden “would rather go with dictators on a bended knee than … allow us to use American energy.”

Since taking office, Biden has put some policies in place that have been viewed as unfriendly to the country’s energy industry, like a temporary halt to new oil leasing. However, U.S. oil production recently hit an all-time high, according to The Associated Press. 

Nevertheless, Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin (W.Va.) joined Republicans in criticizing the move.

“On the heels of announcing the smallest five-year offshore oil and gas leasing plan in decades, this administration is turning to Venezuela … one of the world’s dirtiest energy producers and an oppressor of its own people,” Manchin said Thursday. 

He noted past failures to achieve democratic reforms in Venezuela, saying that “it makes no sense at all to reward bad actors before they actually take the action you want.”

Maduro faces reelection next year after winning what the U.S. and others described as sham elections in 2018. 

The Biden administration has defended its sanctions, which will allow for transactions involving the oil and gas sector in Venezuela for six months, telling reporters that the agreement was the most viable pathway toward competitive elections and ending a humanitarian crisis in the country. 

An administration official also argued that the goal of sanctions is ultimately to result in positive changes like those included in the deal. 

The decision also had some supporters, particularly on the left. 

“Lifting these sanctions is an excellent step toward protecting the lives and dignity of the Venezuelan people,” Progressive Caucus Chairwoman Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) wrote in a post on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.

“I’m glad to see the administration taking action to ensure free and fair elections in Venezuela while undoing harmful and punitive Trump-era sanctions,” she said.