Lula celebrates relief from sanctions imposed by the US on Venezuela

President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) celebrated this Thursday (19) the United States’ decision to temporarily ease economic sanctions imposed on Venezuela. The North American decision came after the Nicolás Maduro regime and the country’s opposition reached an agreement to hold “free elections” in Venezuela next year.

“I received with satisfaction the news that the US government removed sanctions against Venezuela, after the Venezuelan government and opposition signed an agreement for fair elections next year,” said Lula in social network.

On Monday (16), the Brazilian president spoke with the dictator of Venezuela about the elections in the neighboring country. Planalto reported that Lula “requested information” about the negotiation process between the local government and the opposition and about negotiations on the possible suspension of United States economic sanctions against Venezuela.

Following the agreement between Maduro and the opposition, the US issued general licenses authorizing transactions involving Venezuela’s oil and gas sector, as well as the gold mining sector.

“Unilateral sanctions harm the population of affected countries and hinder mediation and conflict resolution processes. The total and permanent lifting of sanctions contributes to normalizing Venezuelan politics and stabilizing the region”, Lula highlighted this afternoon.