The swaps were seen as a way to address the nation's humanitarian crisis because diesel is used in agriculture, public transportation and to move food and medicine. In a departure from the Trump administration, President Biden has signaled he may seek a negotiated solution to end the crisis in the Latin American country, which has been plagued by hyperinflation, lack of food and fuels and a refugee crisis. Reliance didn't immediately return email seeking comment. Desai worked for Biden in 2005 and later worked for private firms, including energy companies Cheniere Energy Inc and Tellurian Inc, according to his LinkedIn page. He didn't immediately return a message seeking comment. After sanctions cut off Caracas's access to U.S. refiners, PDVSA started selling oil to little-known companies that have used a variety of methods to make detection difficult, such as turning off vessel transponders to disguise their presence in Venezuela.