Former US President Donald Trump may have disappeared noisily into history but the sword of Damocles which he has left over the head of the Maduro administration in Venezuela remains dangling menacingly and Trump’s successor, Joe Biden, appears in no hurry to remove it.
This week Caribbean News.net quoted “experts” as warning that South America’s one-time oil giant could be heading for another of its accustomed crises unless Washington lifts the sanctions that are preventing the Maduro administration from swapping its crude oil for refined diesel.
From all reports Caracas’ oil refinery infrastructure is in no condition to produce the volumes of diesel which the country requires so that the country has become increasingly dependent on imported diesel fuel for its electricity and transportation sectors. Reportedly, no diesel shipments have arrived in Venezuela since October 2020 and existing supplies are expected to run out in March.