The Ukraine war is opening space for talks with Venezuela
As the US looks for other oil sources amid the Russian ban, the alternatives to a negotiated settlement for Maduro and the opposition are becoming less attractive.
Geoff Ramsey is the Director for Venezuela at the Washington Office on Latin America, a research and advocacy organization advancing a peaceful, negotiated solution to Venezuela’s crisis. He is a leading expert on Venezuela’s political crisis, and has traveled regularly to the country since 2014. He is in close contact with key actors working for an end to the crisis in Venezuela, both inside and outside of the country. In addition to authoring a number of reports and commentary pieces for WOLA and the Venezuelan Politics and Human Rights blog, his work has been cited or published in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, Foreign Policy, and other major media outlets.
As the US looks for other oil sources amid the Russian ban, the alternatives to a negotiated settlement for Maduro and the opposition are becoming less attractive.
The US should move quickly, particularly if Maduro shows signs that he’s serious about negotiating.
There will be plenty of space to maneuver after the Trump administration’s brash unilateralism.
Surprise, regime change in Venezuela via crippling sanctions and saber rattling didn’t work after all.