A Venezuelan businessman who helped hide almost $17 million in bribe payments by an ally of President Nicolas Maduro was sentenced to six months in prison Friday by a federal judge who expressed frustration that his cooperation with law enforcement was undone by President Joe Biden’s recent pardon of a top U.S. criminal target.Orlando Contreras had been working with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration since 2019 to investigate corruption in the South American nation.As part of that assistance, prosecutors said, he made several dangerous trips to Venezuela to gather evidence against businessman Alex Saab and former Gov. Jose Vielma. By Joshua Goodman. Full Text -> KXAN

The U.S. government is evaluating efforts by the Venezuelan government to keep opposition primary winner María Corina Machado from competing in next year’s presidential election, a move that could prompt Washington to reinstate the recently lifted sanctions against Caracas’ socialist regime, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Tuesday. Blinken made the comments in Congress in response to a question from Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida, who expressed concern that strongman Nicolas Maduro in just a few days had scuttled the deal his regime had reached with the Venezuelan opposition earlier this month. By Antonio María Delgado. Full Text ->MiamiHerald

“Nicolas Maduro … is making a critical mistake if he thinks that our patience is infinite, and that dilatory tactics will serve him well,” said Brian Nichols, assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs. “We stand ready to snap back sanctions and ready to take comprehensive measures,” if talks are not renewed and make progress, Nichols told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. By Timothy Gardner. Full Text -> Reuters

See video -> Statement of Ambassador Brian A. NicholsBefore the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations:September 15, 2022

Traducción de cortesía -> “Nicolás Maduro… está cometiendo un error crítico si piensa que nuestra paciencia es infinita y que las tácticas dilatorias le servirán”, dijo Brian Nichols, secretario de Estado adjunto para Asuntos del Hemisferio Occidental. “Estamos listos para retirar las sanciones y listos para tomar medidas integrales”, si las conversaciones no se reanudan y avanzan, dijo Nichols al Comité de Relaciones Exteriores del Senado.

Italy’s Eni and Spain’s Repsol will get the green light to start shipping Venezuelan crude to Europe from next month, Reuters has reported, citing five unnamed sources in the know.The sources cited a letter written by the U.S. State Department to Eni and Repsol, signaling that Washington’s firm stance on Venezuelan sanctions may not be so firm after all now that its strategic partners in Europe are facing a shortage of crude because of sanctions against Russia. By Irina Slav. Full Text -> OilPrice

Traducción de cortesía ->

Eni de Italia y Repsol de España obtendrán luz verde para comenzar a enviar crudo venezolano a Europa a partir del próximo mes, informó Reuters, citando cinco fuentes no identificadas al tanto. Las fuentes citaron una carta escrita por el Departamento de Estado de EE. UU. a Eni y Repsol, que indica que la postura firme de Washington sobre las sanciones a Venezuela puede no ser tan firme después de todo ahora que sus socios estratégicos en Europa enfrentan una escasez de crudo debido a las sanciones contra Rusia.

The US oil major has begun assembling a trading team to market oil from Venezuela, two of the people said. If US approvals are received, Chevron aims to expand its role in the four joint ventures it shares with state-run company PDVSA, they added. Full Text -> IsraelHAYHOM

Traducción de cortesía -> La petrolera estadounidense ha comenzado a formar un equipo comercial para comercializar petróleo de Venezuela, dijeron dos de las personas. Si se reciben las aprobaciones estadounidenses, Chevron apunta a ampliar su papel en las cuatro empresas conjuntas que comparte con la estatal PDVSA, agregaron.

Traducción al español -> Google Translación

With a better understanding of the shipping subterfuge, the U.S. and its allies can make the whole rogue enterprise prohibitively costly for all parties, plugging enforcement gaps and truly squeezing Tehran. By Daniel Toth and Clair Jungman. Full Text-> TheHill

Traducción de cortesía -> Con una mejor comprensión del subterfugio del transporte marítimo, EE. UU. Y sus aliados pueden hacer que toda la empresa deshonesta sea prohibitivamente costosa para todas las partes, tapando las brechas en la aplicación de la ley y exprimiendo realmente a Teherán.

US President Joe Biden’s administration is reviewing limits on remittances to Cuba, the latest sign of a cautious shift away from his predecessor’s “maximum pressure” strategy against Havana and its close ally Venezuela. By Patricia Garip and Canute James. Full Text-> ArgusNews

A joint investigation by EL PAÍS and Armando.info unveils the inner workings of a scheme involving dozens of individuals and companies that illicitly sold crude and transferred the money through tax havens in a shady multi-million-dollar business. Full Text -> ElPaís

Iran and Venezuela have managed to maintain their commercial relationship, despite U.S. sanctions. Cristina Caicedo Smit reports. Full Video-> VOA

The Trump administration has seized the cargo of four tankers it was targeting for transporting Iranian fuel to Venezuela, U.S. officials said Thursday, as it steps up its campaign of maximum pressure against the two heavily sanctioned allies. By Joshua Goodman. Full Text-> Reuters