State Department deputy spokesman Vedant Patel on Monday denied claims that U.S. President Joe Biden’s administration had granted pardon to Venezuela’s socialist dictator Nicolas Maduro.
Patel’s comments were recent. Report Issuer The Wall Street Journal Anonymous sources claimed the US had held talks with Maduro government officials about the possibility of granting amnesty to the president and other senior members of his dictatorial regime who have been indicted by US authorities.
Watch — Watch: Maduro sign burns during Venezuelan election protests:
Maduro and his top officials are wanted by U.S. authorities on multiple narco-terrorism charges, and the socialist dictator has $15 million in reserves. Prize Money Take action to obtain information that leads to an arrest or conviction.
The report argues that in exchange for the amnesty, Maduro must relinquish power following a fake presidential election on July 28. The dictator claims he “won” despite the continued refusal of Venezuela’s electoral authorities, which he controls, to release voter data.
Patel, Monday Press ConferenceHe said the WSJ report was “not true.”:
We have not offered amnesty to Mr. Maduro or anyone else since this election. … With regard to Venezuela, we reject the increased violence, unjust mass imprisonment, and repression against the Venezuelan people, including members of the democratic opposition.
I certainly won’t read into the outcome of this process. As Secretary Blinken has said, it is time for Venezuela’s political parties to begin negotiating a respectful and peaceful transition of power in accordance with Venezuela’s electoral law and the wishes of the Venezuelan people. The United States is and will continue to explore a range of options to pressure President Maduro and return Venezuela to a democratic path, but the responsibility lies with President Maduro and Venezuela’s electoral authorities to be honest about the election results.
White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre Denied He made the report’s allegations at his own press conference on Monday.
Maduro is currently seeking a third six-year term in power after a July election that the dictator claimed was a “win” that has been publicly rejected by several regional countries and international organizations, and Venezuela’s opposition is contesting the “official” results released by the country’s electoral authorities.
Venezuela’s Opposition Published They claim that the vote tallies obtained on election day proved that their candidate, 74-year-old former diplomat Edmundo Gonzalez, defeated Maduro in a landslide victory, and that the CNE’s claim of Maduro’s victory was therefore false.
The fake elections and Maduro’s claimed “victory” sparked nationwide peaceful protests against the dictator, who responded with brutal persecution. campaign As a result, at least 24 deaths As of this week, more than 2,000 people have been arbitrarily detained. President Maduro has said the protests are “International ZionismA plot to overthrow his government.
of The Wall Street Journal The report, now denied by U.S. officials, alleges that negotiations for amnesty in exchange for the dictator stepping down were conducted online between National Assembly Speaker Jorge Rodriguez, who is also Mr. Maduro’s chief negotiator, and Daniel P. Erickson, who heads Venezuela policy on the White House National Security Council.
The report explains that Maduro’s attempts to stay in power are “unfavorable” to President Joe Biden, whose administration has spent significant effort, without success, to persuade Maduro to recognize “free and fair” elections in Venezuela.
Maduro ultimately chose to abandon the agreement with the opposition that was signed in Barbados in October 2023 under the watch of Secretary of State Antony Blinken, leading to the events of July 28. All elements of the election Orchestrated To ensure Maduro remains in power, he even warned on the birthday of his predecessor, the late socialist dictator Hugo Chavez, who threatened Venezuelans with “bloodshed” if he was not declared the “winner” in a fake election.
The Biden administration’s failed efforts have seen Biden make several concessions to Maduro and his rogue socialist regime over the past two years. release The sons of Efraín Antonio Campo Flores and Francisco Flores de Freitas, nephews of President Maduro who were convicted of drug trafficking, are known as Narcosobrinos (“Drug Nephew”) The two Arrested He was arrested by DEA agents in Haiti’s capital, Port-au-Prince, in November 2015 for allegedly attempting to transport 800 kilograms of cocaine into U.S. territory.
The Biden administration also Alex SaabThe man who is said to be President Maduro’s chief money launderer and financial adviser was on trial in a U.S. court on money laundering charges. The White House Claimed It said Saab’s release would help curb the mass influx of Venezuelan migrants into the United States by addressing the “root causes of migration.”
Maduro has also received sanctions relief from the Biden administration, including currently in place license The permit was granted to California-based Chevron in November 2022, allowing the company to resume oil production and exports from Venezuela to the U.S. The Biden administration Deleted Another of Maduro’s nephews, Carlos Erick Malpica Flores, was also removed from the US sanctions list.
Malpica Flores, who was once the dictator’s treasurer Authorized In 2017, the United States indicted him on charges of involvement in the disappearance of $11 billion from state-run oil company PDVSA between 2004 and 2014.
As part of an agreement signed in Barbados in October 2023, President Maduro Received President Biden’s six-month package of oil and gas sanctions relief allows his administration to freely sell oil on U.S. and international markets, opening up new revenue streams for the dictatorship until the April 2024 deadline.
Biden offered to lift sanctions in exchange for a vague promise from Maduro to hold “free and fair” elections in Venezuela later in 2024. Maduro has not kept to the terms of the agreement. Doubled About the persecution of dissidents.
of The Wall Street Journal The report noted that Biden has “five months” to reach an agreement with Maduro before the new Venezuelan president’s term begins in January 2025. The Wall Street Journal Former President Donald Trump has suggested he would not approve an amnesty agreement for Maduro if he wins the next US presidential election.
The report also alleges that the Biden administration offered Maduro a similar pardon during a private meeting in Doha, Qatar, between Jorge Rodriguez and Biden’s former Latin America adviser Juan Gonzalez in 2023. Maduro “refused to discuss any arrangement that would have required him to step down,” according to the report.
Christian K. Caruso is a Venezuelan author documenting life under socialism. You can follow him on Twitter. here.
