Biden administration authorises US oil company Chevron to open talks with Maduro's government, temporarily lifting a ban on such discussions, senior administration officials say.
After a political stalemate of three years that has seen economic and social conditions in Venezuela deteriorate, Washington wants to encourage President Nicolas Maduro to negotiate with his opponents.
President Nicolas Maduro’s calculation includes the potential for domestic and international political and economic gains.
Last November, the ICC opened a formal investigation into alleged rights violations during a crackdown by security forces on protests sparked by the arrests of several opposition leaders in 2017.
One of the freed prisoners was Gustavo Cardenas, among six Citgo oil executives arrested in 2017, and the other was a Cuban American, identified as Jorge Alberto Fernandez, detained on unrelated charges, Reuters reports.
The weekend meeting comes as Washington looks for ways to reduce its imports of Russian oil after Moscow's attack on Ukraine.
Both sides used meeting in Caracas to present what one of the sources described as "maximalist" demands, Reuters reports, reflecting longtime tensions between US and its ideological foe Venezuela which has backed Russia's war on Ukraine.
Cliver Alcala was arrested by the US authorities on drug trafficking charges, which were filed as the Trump administration pressed Venezuelan President Maduro to leave power.
The recent regional elections were billed as a test for the beginning of the end of a years-long political stalemate.
International Criminal Court and the government of President Nicolas Maduro agree to work together to investigate human rights abuses in recent years.
Hugo Armando Carvajal Barrios was set to be handed over to US authorities on charges including narco-terrorism.
A top aide close to Venezuela's socialist government has been put on a flight from Cape Verde to the United States to face money laundering charges, a senior US official confirmed Saturday.
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