U.S.: The Goal of Sanctions on Venezuela is Behavior Change, Not Regime Change

A senior U.S. official stated on Thursday, September 7, that the aim of recent sanctions against Venezuela is not regime change but rather to pressure Nicolas Maduro's government to restore democratic norms. According to the Associated Press, the remarks by Rick Waddell, Deputy National Security Advisor, indicate a softening of the White House's stance. Last month, Donald Trump mentioned that the U.S. could consider military action against Venezuela, and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson had also discussed a pressure policy to force Maduro to resign. Waddell stated that the sanctions imposed in August against Venezuela aim to 'change the behavior' of its government. Under these sanctions, U.S. financial institutions and banks are prohibited from extending new loans to the Venezuelan government or its state oil company. Transactions involving government bonds of both countries will be banned, aiming to further isolate Venezuela from Western financial markets, and the branch of the Venezuelan oil company, Citgo, will no longer be able to repatriate its earnings to Venezuela. Waddell said, 'We want the Venezuelan government to return to democratic methods and respect human rights and private property. These changes do not necessarily require regime change.' Concurrently, as Maduro takes steps to consolidate power and expand his authority through constitutional amendments in recent months, the U.S. has increased pressure on the Venezuelan government. Over the past four months, at least 120 people have been killed during protests against Maduro's plan to rewrite the constitution. A referendum in July allowed Maduro's allies to begin the constitutional rewriting process, although this vote was heavily criticized both domestically and internationally for fraud and lack of oversight. Since last month, when Trump spoke of the possibility of military action against the Venezuelan government, no U.S. officials have mentioned this topic. Rex Tillerson stated that the U.S. is considering options to create conditions where 'either Maduro realizes he has no future and must resign, or we will force the government to return to respecting democratic norms.' The Associated Press adds that it seems the main focus of the U.S. is currently on economic pressure. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said on Wednesday, 'We will continue to explore the possibility of imposing further sanctions against Venezuela.' Waddell also attempted to send a message to the Chinese government, which he said currently holds over $60 billion in Venezuelan external debt. In response to reporters' questions about the possibility of non-payment of these debts, he said, 'Defaulting on external debt in Latin America is not a new issue and a type of forbearance is likely.' He added, 'If I were in the position of the Chinese government and Chinese lenders, I would certainly be concerned about the repayment of these debts.' The Venezuelan government and its state oil company must pay $4 billion of their debt by the end of this year. Currently, the country has only $9.7 billion in its foreign currency reserves.