RE:License ExtensionI think the US government is doing it just right. They keep holding out an incentive to Maduro to do the election free and fair.
But they're not going to let him do the election rigged while also bragging that he has stood up to the US on Citgo.
If / when the election is happening without being verifiably free and fair then the Citgo sale will have already happened (though perhaps not finalized).
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It is an interesting question as to what the US should choose as the correct trigger for letting the Citgo sale go ahead. It could be:
(1) The election is approaching and it's settled that it won't be free / fair;
OR
(2) The election is over and Maduro (surprise surprise) is the winner.
As I indicated above, my sense is that the US understands that (1) is the correct choice. To go with (2) that would just give Maduro the opportunity to brag about standing up to the US during the latter stages of the campaign, claim (falsely) that Citgo will always belong to PDVSA, etc.