The United States is expected to announce a deal with Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro later today. The deal would ease sanctions on Venezuela and allow the U.S. to authenticate the 2024 election in Venezuela.
That all sounds nice but President Maduro is still under indictment by the U.S. Justice Department for drug trafficking. The State Department still offers up a $15 million reward for his arrest. How can he be wanted in the U.S. and a partner to the U.S. at the same time?
After years of declaring that Maduro is a corrupt dictator, why would the U.S. want to mend fences with Venezuela right now? The answer most likely has to do with oil. Venezuela is an OPEC member and has 17.5% of the world’s oil reserves, according to BP.