LatinNews Regional Monitor: Andean Group - 23 August 2019

Speculation that Venezuelan government strongman Diosdado Cabello held secret talks with someone close to the US administration led by President Donald Trump seized the headlines this week. According to anonymous officials cited in The Associated Press and other media outlets Cabello and a string of other high-ranking officials openly discussed guarantees of no reprisals if they were to cede to demands to oust the de facto president Nicolás Maduro. But the development that could have a far greater impact on Maduro’s survival is the decision by China’s largest energy company China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) to cancel Venezuelan crude imports this month in what looks like a response to the swingeing new sanctions imposed by the Trump administration.

End of preview - This article contains approximately 484 words.

Subscribers: Log in now to read the full article

Not a Subscriber?

Choose from one of the following options

• Subscribe
• Sign up for a one-time, 14-day trial