The first steps of a path aimed at improving ties between the US and Venezuela have been abandoned. Washington has reimposed sanctions on Caracas and threatened more. Venezuelan officials say the country will block deportation flights from the US. 

Last October, Washington and Caracas agreed to work to improve bilateral ties. Under President Donald Trump, the US imposed an economic war against Venezuela and attempted to remove President Nicolas Maduro in a series of coups. Biden agreed to lift sanctions on Venezuela’s gold and oil sectors, and Maduro agreed to accept Venezuelans deported from the US. 

On Monday, the Treasury Department reimposed sanctions on Venezuela’s state-mining company. Washington said the move was in response to the Venezuelan Supreme Court removing two Veneuans opposition leaders’ eligibility to run for president. 

Journalist Ryan Grim asked State Department Spokesman Matthew Miller about the seeming hypocrisy of sanctioning Venezuela for barring a presidential candidate but not condemning Pakistan after former President Imran Khan was jailed. Additionally, the White House has not called for Donald Trump to be returned to the ballots in Maine and Colorado after he was removed. 

The State Department also threatened that if Caracas did not restore the candidates’ eligibility, sanctions on the oil industry would be reimposed. The Maduro administration responded by saying Venezuela would stop accepting deportation flights from the US. “If they make the mistake of intensifying the economic aggression against Venezuela at the request of their extremist lackeys, repatriation flights for Venezuelan migrants will be immediately revoked as of Feb. 13,” Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodríg​​uez said in a post on X.

In recent decades, Washington has attempted a series of coups and waged economic warfare against the communist government in Caracas with little success. Maduro remains popular in Venezuela. However, the economic wars have had a significant impact on Venezuelans, contributing to poverty and tens of thousands of deaths.