Blinken signals zero change from failed Trump #Venezuela policy
▻https://responsiblestatecraft.org/2022/05/06/blinken-signals-zero-change-from-failed-trump-venezuela-polic
While Washington has pursued its unrealistic goal of regime change, U.S. #sanctions have exacerbated the worst humanitarian crisis in the Western Hemisphere and inflicted senseless collective punishment on the people of Venezuela. There are no serious signs so far that the administration intends to ease these sanctions in the slightest. Incredibly, the official line from the administration is that U.S. sanctions have nothing to do with the suffering of ordinary Venezuelans.
There was a glimmer of hope earlier this year that the U.S. and Venezuela might find a compromise on oil sanctions, and a U.S. delegation even traveled to Caracas for preliminary talks. But the Biden administration backed off from the idea as soon as it faced political opposition from hawks at home. The false start in the spring showed how easily the administration can be spooked by hawkish criticism and how it would rather stick with a failed status quo than take a modicum of political risk.