Venezuelan Vice President: US sanctions on the nation cost $700 billion in lost GDP

According to Vice President Delcy Rodriguez of Venezuela, the US sanctions imposed on the nation have resulted in GDP losses of around $700 billion.

The vice president claimed at an international seminar on Monday in the Bolivian city of Santa Cruz de la Sierra that the sanctions had caused losses to the country’s oil industry of nearly 232 billion dollars. The sanctions have also resulted in the freezing of more than 22 billion dollars’ worth of Venezuelan assets in foreign banks, according to Xinhua news agency.

She said that the US had not complied with the Barbados Agreement, which was made in October 2023 between the government and opposition groups in Venezuela, which called for the easing of sanctions.

President Nicolas Maduro of Venezuela received a reprieve from US sanctions in October 2023 thanks to the agreement, which is known as General License 44. However, in January, the Joe Biden administration reinstated the sanctions, citing Maduro’s decision to forbid a prominent opposition candidate from seeking the presidency as the reason.

According to Rodriguez, Latin America “basically” needs a new financial architecture in light of US unilateral actions.

The vice president of Venezuela said, “We must conduct trade in our own currencies if we wish to think about a new financial architecture.”