US-Venezuela ties

A brief history of US and Venezuela relations

• Venezuela’s troubles started in the mid-2010s, after the global boom in commodities ended and the country slipped into an economic crisis.
• While its oil-dependent economy had grown significantly during the boom, Venezuela remains one of Latin America’s poorest countries. Massive investments in social spending were made during that time by Chávez, which ensured the popularity of the “chavistas”, as the socialists are called.
• After the economic collapse, the crime rate doubled, including drug trafficking and corruption, and inflation multiplied – a situation made worse by West-imposed sanctions. Previously, Maduro has blamed the US sanctions on the country’s state oil company and government for the economic problems the country faced.
• The Congressional Research Service (CRS) notes that while the US and Venezuela had historically close relations, partly because the latter was a major US oil supplier, the frictions that started during Chávez’s rule were made worse under Maduro.
• The US saw the Chávez government as playing a role in undermining human rights and freedom of expression. Under Maduro, this was made worse because of his crackdowns on the opposition, media and civil society.
• Essentially, for over a decade now, the US has been concerned about the deterioration of human rights and democracy in Venezuela. To counter this, the US has repeatedly resorted to sanctions, which have included revocations of visas of Venezuelan officials and their families, financial sanctions and sanctions on the Maduro government.

Current Scenario

• Maduro is one of the few leaders who has offered his “strong support” to Russia as it tries to invade Ukraine, Europe’s second-largest country.
• Previously, Russia offered its support to Maduro’s regime, as countries including the US, Canada and EU recognised Guaido.
• Russia, China, Cuba, Turkey and Iran supported Maduro’s regime, while countries including Norway, Mexico and the Caribbean nations chose to be neutral.
• Venezuela is a perfect opportunity for Russia to maintain a foothold in the Western Hemisphere, assert itself as a global power and also challenge a world order that it perceives as skewed towards US interests.
• Interestingly, when the US sanctioned oil imports from Venezuela in 2019, they were substituted by oil imports from Russia.