The State Department on Monday denied a Wall Street Journal report that the Biden administration offered Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro an amnesty in exchange for him stepping down after 11 years in power.
“That is not true,” Principal Deputy Press Secretary Vedant Patel told reporters during a question-and-answer session at a press conference on Monday. “We have not made any oversight to Mr. Maduro or any other party since these elections.”
Patel’s comments stood in stark contrast to claims made by “three people familiar with the Biden administration’s deliberations.”[s]”Regarding the secret meetings between the United States and Venezuela held in Doha, Qatar in June and September 2023, According to a report from the Wall Street Journal:.
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro holds a press conference at the Miraflores Presidential Palace in Caracas, Venezuela, on July 31, 2024, three days after his disputed re-election. (AP Photo/Mathias Delacroix, File)
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Few details have been released since then, but a report published last year said Maduro’s top adviser, Jorge Rodriguez, and Juan Gonzalez, a former senior director for Western Hemisphere affairs on the White House National Security Council, met at least twice to discuss a range of issues as well as the amnesty proposal, including sanctions relief. Document posted by Maduro to XHowever, the United States has never confirmed this information.
The Wall Street Journal report also suggested amnesty deals may be in place for top officials of President Maduro who are facing judicial indictment on charges related to an alleged conspiracy to export cocaine to the United States.
The State Department did not respond to Fox News Digital’s questions about the Wall Street Journal report, but a spokesman for the White House National Security Council repeated the State Department’s position.
“Since the July 28 election, no specific offer of amnesty has been made to Nicolás Maduro or anyone else,” Vanessa Vidal Castellanos, director of strategic communications and assistant spokesperson for the National Security Council, told Fox News Digital.
“We are working with our partners to explore and continue to explore a range of options to encourage and pressure President Maduro to recognize the election results, but the responsibility lies with President Maduro and Venezuela’s electoral authorities to be honest about the election results,” she added.
The amnesty proposal has reportedly emerged as a way to encourage President Maduro to step down before the end of his term.
Opponents of the government of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro protested in Caracas on July 29, 2024, the day after Venezuela’s presidential election. (Raul Arboleda/AFP via Getty Images)
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However, President Maduro has reportedly been reluctant to “discuss any exit arrangements” and has strengthened his stance since last month’s general election.
As evidence mounts that he has been defeated by opposition leader Edmundo Gonzalez, Venezuela’s President Maduro has refused to give up power despite growing international calls for him to step down.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken echoed those calls last week, saying, “Since the election, we have consulted extensively with partners and allies around the world. While countries have taken different approaches to their response, no country has concluded that Nicolas Maduro received the most votes in this election.”
“The overwhelming evidence makes it clear to the United States, and above all to the Venezuelan people, that Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia received the most votes in Venezuela’s July 28 presidential election.”
An army soldier holds a ballot box during a military parade displaying electoral materials to be used in the upcoming presidential elections, July 24, 2024, at Fuerte Tiuna in Caracas. (STRINGER/AFP via Getty Images)
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The United Nations General Assembly has offered to act as a third party to mediate the election results in an effort to resolve growing unrest in Venezuela.
Amid growing pressure for him to step down, Maduro’s regime has arrested thousands of protesters and dissidents, maintained loyalty to the military, and elected a pro-Maduro Supreme Court to resolve disputes over elections.
It has been reported that President Maduro’s position on stepping down “remains unchanged.”
