US sanctions relief on Venezuela: neoliberal asset control shift amid geopolitical leverage and structural debt dependency

Indigenous and Afro-Venezuelan communities have historically opposed extractivist policies that prioritize foreign corporate control over land and resources. The Pemon people, for instance, have resisted mining and oil operations in the Orinoco Belt, which threaten their ancestral territories. Their resistance is framed as 'illegal' in mainstream narratives, despite constitutional protections for indigenous land rights. The US sanctions relief further marginalizes these communities by accelerating resource extraction without their consent.

US sanctions on Venezuela follow a pattern of economic coercion dating back to the 1960s, when the US supported coups against leftist governments (e.g., 1964 Venezuela coup attempt). The 2019 sanctions were unprecedented in scope, targeting Venezuela’s oil sector and central bank, mirroring Cold War-era economic warfare. Historical precedents, such as the 1980s Latin American debt crisis, show how 'sanctions relief' often leads to structural adjustment programs that deepen poverty and inequality.

In Iran, US sanctions relief under the JCPOA (2015) led to increased foreign corporate access to oil and gas sectors, but little benefit for ordinary citizens. African nations like Zimbabwe and Sudan have experienced similar patterns, where sanctions relief was tied to IMF conditionalities that prioritized debt repayment over social spending. In Cuba, the US embargo has persisted for decades, demonstrating how economic coercion becomes a permanent tool of geopolitical control.

Empirical studies show that US sanctions on Venezuela reduced oil production by 40% between 2017-2020, exacerbating hyperinflation and food insecurity. Research by the Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR) indicates that sanctions were a primary driver of Venezuela’s economic collapse, not internal mismanagement alone. The IMF’s own assessments acknowledge that structural adjustment programs in the 1980s-90s failed to spur growth in Latin America, yet similar conditions are being imposed today.

Venezuelan artists like Yucef Merhi and Colectivo Cambalache have used murals and digital art to critique US sanctions as a form of cultural and economic imperialism. Indigenous spiritual leaders, such as those from the Wayuu community, frame resource extraction as a violation of 'Mother Earth' (Pachamama), a concept shared across Andean and Amazonian cosmologies. The sanctions relief is seen as a continuation of colonial-era plunder, where land and resources are commodified for foreign profit.

If sanctions relief leads to increased foreign corporate control over Venezuela’s oil sector, future scenarios predict a 20-30% increase in oil production by 2026, but with minimal benefits for Venezuelan citizens due to profit repatriation. Debt restructuring under IMF conditions could trigger austerity measures, leading to social unrest and further migration flows. Alternative models, such as cooperative oil ventures with China or Russia, may emerge as counter-hegemonic strategies, but risk deepening geopolitical fragmentation.

Marginalized voices include Venezuelan women, who bear the brunt of hyperinflation and food insecurity, as well as Afro-Venezuelan and indigenous communities facing displacement from extractive industries. The Madres de la Plaza de Mayo in Venezuela have organized protests against economic policies that prioritize foreign debt repayment over social welfare. Diaspora communities in Colombia, Peru, and the US are also excluded from the narrative, despite their role in remittance economies that sustain Venezuela’s survival.