Yahoo Finance 
US Envoys Seek to Aid Prisoners, Bolster Talks in Venezuela Trip
(Bloomberg) -- US officials returned to Caracas for the first time since March in an effort to check on the health and secure the release of American prisoners and convince the Venezuelan government and opposition to restart stalled political negotiations.
Most Read from Bloomberg
Russia Slips Into Historic Default as Sanctions Muddy Next Steps
Big Tech Sinks Stocks Bruised by Recession Jitters: Markets Wrap
Stocks Drop, Bonds Climb as Traders Turn Defensive: Markets Wrap
A delegation led by US Ambassador to Venezuela James Story is holding a series of meetings with President Nicolas Maduro’s government and members of opposition political parties, according to people with knowledge of the trip. US Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs Roger Carstens joined Story to discuss the welfare and safety of US nationals in Venezuela, according to a State Department spokesperson.
Among the cases they are discussing is former US Marine Matthew Heath, who has been held in Venezuela since September 2020, according to the people. Carstens and other US officials expect to see Heath on Tuesday, according to one person familiar with the trip, and hope to see others.
Heath has been in poor health and his family appealed to Maduro and President Joe Biden and Maduro to arrange an emergency medical evacuation to the US, according to a statement from a spokesman for the family.
The trip to Caracas is an “encouraging sign, both for Matthew and for the numerous other Americans held hostage in Venezuela with whom the Heath family stands shoulder-to-shoulder,” Jonathan Franks, the family spokesman, wrote in an emailed statement. At least seven Americans, including former executives from oil firm Citgo, are being held in Caracas.
The trip adds to shifting relations between the US and Venezuela. The US severed diplomatic ties with the Maduro government in 2019 but has recently opened the path to lifting economic sanctions if there is progress on political negotiations between the government and the opposition.
While those negotiations have been stalled since October, Washington has moved to coax Maduro back to restarting the talks, which are being held in Mexico City. The Biden administration allowed shipments of Venezuelan oil to Europe and gave Chevron Corp. approval to negotiate its agreement with Petroleos de Venezuela SA amid tight supplies of crude and rising oil prices that have led to a spike in gasoline prices.
Shortly after the US envoys arrived on Monday, Maduro said his chief negotiator and National Assembly President Jorge Rodriguez had welcomed “an important delegation from the US government,” during remarks on state TV, without elaborating. Story met with opposition leader Juan Guaido shortly after arriving to discuss the resumption of the Mexico talks, according to a person with direct knowledge of the meeting.
The visit, reported earlier by the Associated Press, follows a rare trip from Biden administration officials in March that included Story. As a result of agreements struck during the March visit, the US allowed the European shipments to offset gas sales from Spanish firm Repsol SA and Italy’s Eni, helping compensate a supply crunch resulting from an embargo on Russian crude. Last week, the US Treasury removed a former Maduro administration official from its list of sanctioned individuals.
The US administration has said further easing of sanctions depends on Maduro agreeing to political concessions in the framework of negotiations in Mexico. Both the government and opposition have signaled they are willing to resume the talks but no date has been set.
(Adds details on negotiations starting in first paragraph)
Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek
How Generations of Black Americans Lost Their Land to Tax Liens
You Can Give People What They Want. Or You Can Give Them Web3
©2022 Bloomberg L.P.
