Possible Russia oil embargo drives US outreach to Venezuela

By JOSHUA GOODMAN
Associated Press
MIAMI (AP) — Senior U.S. officials secretly traveled to Venezuela over the weekend in a risky bid to unfreeze hostile relations with Vladimir Putin’s top ally in Latin America, a top oil exporter whose re-entry into U.S. energy markets could mitigate the fallout at the pump from a possible oil embargo on Russia. The outcome of the talks with President Nicolas Maduro’s government wasn’t immediately clear. The surprise visit came together after months of quiet backchannelling by intermediaries pushing for Biden to revisit the failed “maximum pressure” campaign to unseat Maduro he inherited from the Trump administration. But the impetus for a risky outreach to Maduro took on added urgency following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and ensuing U.S. sanctions.