The top House Republican on foreign policy said Wednesday that the Biden administration is pursuing a policy of “failed appeasement” toward Venezuela by prematurely lifting sanctions on the socialist regime of President Nicolas Maduro without clear guarantees he’ll allow democratic elections in the South American nation.

The administration recently announced a temporary suspension of some sanctions on the country’s critical oil sector, part of a process in which the Maduro regime was supposed to allow Venezuela’s political opposition a chance to select a candidate and compete freely in the 2024 vote.

“The regime will enrich itself from this administration’s sanctions relief while the Venezuelan people remain without a viable path for free and fair elections,” House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul warned in a letter this week to Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

“This outcome is, unfortunately, all too familiar and predictable,” the Texas Republican wrote. “It fits as part of a pattern of failed appeasement by the administration of anti-American forces that is routinely exploited by our adversaries like China, Russia, and Iran.”

The Maduro regime has a long history of jailing opposition figures in the country whose collapsed economy has created a massive humanitarian crisis that has destabilized the region. Mr. Maduro, a protege of the late anti-U.S. populist President Hugo Chavez, won a second six-year term in 2018 in a vote widely dismissed both in Venezuela and abroad as riddled with fraud.

The White House last month unexpectedly eased Trump-era sanctions on Venezuelan oil as an incentive for progress in talks between the Maduro regime and opposition leaders.

Administration officials hoped economic incentives and soft-touch diplomacy would entice Mr. Maduro to honor promises to proceed with a free and fair presidential election to be held in 2024.

So far, the regime has balked, by escalating its attacks on democracy — most notably by moving to disqualify pro-democracy activist Maria Corina Machado from running for president against Mr. Maduro, despite her overwhelming victory in a recent primary election.

In the days since the Oct. 22 opposition-run primary attracted a turnout of more than 2 million voters and a massive win for Ms. Machado, the regime has announced that the entire primary process is under investigation for money laundering, conspiracy and financial crimes.

The Biden administration has responded with caution. Mr. Blinken told lawmakers during an Oct. 31 hearing on Capitol Hill that the goal of easing sanctions had been to encourage the Maduro regime to move forward toward elections.

The secretary of state stressed the administration retained the ability to “snap [the sanctions] back,” asserting that the regime is “not getting a free pass for actions they take that are in contradiction to the commitments that they’ve made to move toward free and fair elections.”

Mr. McCaul questioned that position in his letter to Mr. Blinken, asserting that he has “grave concern” that sanctions were lifted at all and requesting “clarity on the administration’s policy.”

“I understand that the administration has given the Maduro regime until the end of November to begin lifting electoral bans on opposition presidential candidates and start releasing political prisoners and wrongfully detained Americans,” the congressman wrote.

“Can you confirm that the Administration is committed and poised to reimpose all sanctions…if the Maduro regime fails to lift all legal bans on Mrs. Machado to participate in 2024 elections, as well as establish conditions for free and fair elections, by November 30, 2023?”

The Trump administration’s “maximum pressure” policy on Venezuela had sought to drive Mr. Maduro from power and curtail Venezuela’s burgeoning ties to China, Russia and Iran.

Under Mr. Trump, the U.S. joined several North American and European powers in recognizing Venezuelan opposition figure Juan Guaido as the rightful president, but Mr. Guaido failed to unite the opposition or spark much enthusiasm at home. He has been largely cast aside since President Biden arrived at the White House.

Ms. Machado, meanwhile, has said the Maduro regime made “a huge mistake” by attempting to disqualify her from running for president. The regime’s moves, she said last week, have drawn international attention and accelerated the momentum of the pro-democracy movement in Venezuela.

• Guy Taylor can be reached at gtaylor@washingtontimes.com.