DISINFO: The US conned Venezuela by not complying with the Barbados Agreement
SUMMARY
The US government conned the Venezuelan people by not complying with what was agreed in the Barbados agreements and not lifting the unilateral sanctions that weighed on the Venezuelan economy. Washington violated the agreements when on April 17 it announced new sanctions against Venezuelan oil and gas, something that according to the government of Nicolás Maduro had been agreed in the negotiations that took place in Barbados in 2023 to bring positions closer regarding the electoral process of 2024 in the South American country.
RESPONSE
The US decision to reimpose sanctions on Venezuela is the result of the Venezuelan government not complying with the so-called Barbados Agreement, not the other way round.
Despite commitments to celebrate free elections in the country and some encouraging steps such as allowing international electoral observers, Nicolas Maduro’s regime banned the main opposition candidate María Corina Machado, the winner of the opposition primary, from taking part in electoral contests for 15 years, after it became clear that she could possibly win the presidential election.
The candidate selected to replace her, Corina Yoris, was also banned by Venezuelan authorities, who also arrested Machado’s campaign team and high-profile human rights activist Rocío San Miguel and expelled the UN Human Rights agency staff. The US reimposed sanctions on Venezuela’s gas and oil sector despite this being harmful to US interests.
Pro-Kremlin outlets frequently accuse Western or international powers of illicit or aggressive actions against Russia’s allies. See other examples in our database, such as claims that Venezuelan 'refugees' are being trained at a British military base in Guyana to infiltrate their country, that a UN human rights report on Venezuela aims to delegitimise legislative elections, that the results of Taiwan election are a victory for the Western empire, or that having NATO in Kosovo is a risk for the population as the West is expert in creating conflict.