The U.S. has no plans to change its Venezuela sanctions policy “without constructive steps” from Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro to restore democracy, White House National Security Council Spokesperson Adrienne Watson said on Oct. 5.

“Our sanctions policy on Venezuela remains unchanged. We will continue to implement and enforce our Venezuela sanctions,” Watson said in a statement after the Wall Street Journal reported that Washington was preparing to ease some sanctions on Venezuela to allow Chevron Corp. to resume pumping oil there.

The newspaper reported that in exchange for the sanctions relief, Maduro’s government would resume talks with the country’s opposition to discuss conditions needed to hold free and fair presidential elections in 2024.