President Joe Biden (D) is reportedly preparing to ease sanctions on socialist Venezuela to allow a U.S. oil company to resume production there, which comes as OPEC announced early Wednesday that it would be significantly cutting oil production.
The New York Times reported that Russia and Saudi Arabia, acting as the leaders of the 23-member nation OPEC energy cartel, announced a massive reduction in oil production of two million barrels per day, a move that will likely send gas prices skyrocketing and cause political problems for the Biden administration.
The Biden administration is now “preparing” to lift sanctions on Venezuela to allow Chevron to pump oil again from the leftist authoritarian regime in an attempt to stave off political disaster for the administration caused by rising fuel prices.
The administration would give “significant sanctions relief” if Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro’s regime held talks with the country’s political opposition and held free and fair elections in 2024. The administration has also worked out a deal freeing up hundreds of millions of dollars in Venezuelan funds that are frozen in U.S. banking institutions.
The Biden administration also released convicted narco traffickers related to Maduro in exchange for hostages taken by the regime, a move that could incentivize other hostile foreign powers to detain American citizens so they can use that as leverage over the Biden administration.
“Well, the two Venezuelans that were released are the nephews of Maduro who happen to be convicted drug dealers,” Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) said at the start of the week. “They were put in jail after being convicted after a fair trial in the United States. Evidence was produced and it was overwhelming.”
“That has now put a price tag on Americans. Every time you do one of these deals — and I wanted those people released as much as anybody,” Rubio continued. “But every time you do this, now others know, I can take Americans, I can hold them until I need something as a bargaining chip.”
Rubio said that the trade was a big win for the socialist dictator: “So I think seven innocent American hostages in exchange for two convicted drug dealers who happen to be the nephews of Maduro is a huge win for Maduro and, unfortunately, puts Americans all over the world now in danger.”
