US President has dispatched his special envoy Richard Grenell to Caracas to warn President Nicolas Maduro of the consequences he will face should he not unconditionally accept the return of . Grenell previously .
“President Trump expects Nicolas Maduro to take back all of the Venezuelan criminals and gang members that have been exported to the United States, and to do so unequivocally and without condition,” said US Special Envoy for Latin America Mauricio Claver-Carone.
Trump has made the deportation of immigrants a priority for his second term in office, involving police, immigration agencies, border patrol officials as well as the US military in the deportation drive.
The president has claimed that Latin American immigrants are “poisoning the blood of America” and accused Maduro of emptying Venezuela’s jails to flood the US with criminals. The US has disputed the last year’s vote that allowed Maduro to hold on to power.
When asked if Grenell’s visit means Washington sees Maduro as Venezuela’s legitimate leader, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt responded with: “Absolutely not.”
Hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans in US at risk of deportation
Over the past decade, millions of Venezuelans have fled their homeland, including roughly 600,000 who are living in the US and were given deportation reprieves under former President .
Trump and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem have said they will do away with Biden’s Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Venezuelans, exposing them to deportation and possible political persecution at home.
The Venezuelan opposition has said that although it respects Trump’s desire to be rid of criminals such as members of the notorious Tren de Aragua group, it regrets the potential cancelation of the TPS program, which they say protects hard-working, law-abiding immigrants.
, who attended Trump’s January 20 inauguration and whom the US and other governments see as the “rightful president” of Venezuela after a , also said the cancelation of TPS would punish honest Venezuelans.
US wants jailed Americans released
Another issue of importance to the US is the return of jailed US citizens.
It is not known just how many , though officials there have spoken of at least nine. These are generally labeled “terrorists” or “mercenaries” by Caracas.
The Venezuelan government regularly accuses the opposition of working with the CIA to plan attacks and coups, something the US has denied.
“All I would do on this call is urge the Maduro government — the Maduro regime — in Venezuela, to heed to Special Envoy Ric Grenell and to his demands and what he puts on the table, because ultimately, there will be consequences otherwise,” said Mauricio Claver-Carone.
In 2023, Caracas released 10 American prisoners in exchange for Washington returning a Maduro ally jailed in the US.
And then there’s the oil
A last bone of contention is oil, which Venezuela exports to the US in great quantities. In fact, only China buys more Venezuelan oil than the US.
But US companies also operate in Venezuelan waters. A lucrative special contract allowing to drill there, for instance, is currently under threat of expiring. Chevron CEO Mike Wirth on Friday told the Financial Times newspaper the company would speak with the White House about the permit’s renewal.
Trump has threatened to stop buying Venezuelan oil if Caracas shows itself to be impliable.
“This is not a quid pro quo, is not a negotiation in exchange for anything. President Trump himself has made very clear we don’t need Venezuelan oil,” Mauricio Claver-Carone told reporters on Friday.
Not many screws left for Trump to turn
Relations between the US and Venezuela have been sour for decades, with broken diplomatic relations, sanctions and very public recriminations featuring prominently.
Though Trump engaged in what he called a campaign of “maximum pressure” during his first term in office and more recently branded Maduro a “dictator, ” his successor (and then predecessor) Joe Biden turned up the heat even more.
Last April, Biden reinstated sweeping oil sanctions on Venezuela for failing to hold a free and fair presidential election. He also imposed targeted .
Lastly, Biden increased the amount of money the US was willing to put up as a reward for the capture and conviction of Venezuelan officials, including Maduro himself, leaving Trump with little room to further intensify what Maduro has called US “economic warfare” designed to destroy his country.
js/dj (AFP, AP, Reuters)
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