US and Venezuela Secretly Meet in Mexico as Oil Sanctions Deadline Nears

Maduro representatives met with Biden officials on Tuesday
US backs Colombia’s efforts to mediate with Venezuela

Nicolas Maduro, Venezuela’s president, right, and Gustavo Petro, Colombia’s president, shake hands at Miraflores Palace in Caracas, Venezuela, on Tuesday, April 9, 2024. Photographer: Matias Delacroix/Bloomberg

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By Andreina Itriago and Eric Martin

April 11, 2024 at 9:08 PM UTC

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US officials met secretly this week with members of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro’s administration to keep him engaged in negotiations over democratic reforms as a deadline nears to reinstate sanctions against the nation’s oil industry.

Representatives from Joe Biden’s administration and the Venezuelan government, including Daniel Erikson of the US National Security Council and Maduro’s head negotiator Jorge Rodríguez, met Tuesday in Mexico City to discuss electoral conditions, according to people with direct knowledge of the matter.