Venezuela President Nicolás Maduro had weekend discussions with American officials prompted in part by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
alike on Capitol Hill last week began voicing support for a U.S. ban on Russian oil and natural gas imports as the next step to punish Russia President Vladimir Putin for the invasion.
U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said Biden’s efforts to unite the world against Putin “should not be undercut by propping up” Maduro, whose government is under investigation by the International Criminal Court for possible crimes against humanity committed against protesters in 2017.
Venezuela has been going through a deep political, social and economic crisis for years, which critics attribute to a drop in oil production from rampant mismanagement by socialist governments. The government largely blames U.S. economic sanctions. Maduro broke off dialogue with his opponents last fall after one of his key allies was extradited from Cape Verde to the U.S. on money-laundering charges.