White House Refuses To Rule Out Reapplication Of Sanctions On Venezuela

White House National Security Council Spokesperson John Kirby has told reporters that he's, "not in a position to rule anything in or out," regarding the reapplication of sanctions on Venezuela's oil sector following what appears to be non-compliance with the terms of the deal struck in October.

• Kirby was asked by a reporter: "Sanctions relief was on the condition that [President] Nicholas Maduro releasing [wrongly detained American citizens] by November 30th... No Americans have been released. What is the status of that sanctions relief and what are the consequences for missing that deadline?"
• Kirby: "We don't telegraph in the sanctions realm, we don't get ahead of sanctions decisions so I'm not gonna do that today... Obviously, we always have that option available but I'm not in a position now to rule anything in or out. Deeply, deeply concerned that those commitments weren't followed through by the evening of the 30th."
• Kirby's comments come as Maduro takes an increasingly bellicose position regarding a territorial claim to vast swathes of neighboring Guyana. Kirby says, "we absolutely stand by our unwavering support for Guyana's sovereignty."
• MNI noted earlier todaythat the US military has conducted flight operations within Guyana as a show of support for Georgetown.
• Argus reported today, in another escalation of rhetoric, that, "the Venezuelan government has issued warrants to arrest 13 individuals it accuses of being agents of ExxonMobil, with many of those named of opposition presidential candidate Maria Corina Machado's campaign team."