A group of former United States officials sent an open letter to the Secretary of the State Department, Antony Blinken, to ask him to pressure Nicolás Maduro in favor of holding free elections in Venezuela with the participation of María Corina Machado as a candidate.
The group led by Elliott Abrams and Marshall Billingslea indicated in the letter that they have a deep interest in the efforts to find a democratic solution to the crisis in Venezuela.
«Although the Barbados agreement could have represented an opportunity for the democratic opposition to improve conditions for freer and fairer elections this year, the subsequent actions of the Nicolás Maduro regime have left us with little optimism that a process and a credible results”, they express.
In this sense, they consider that “The moment demands more decisive American leadership to preserve any possibility for the Venezuelan people to pursue a democratic future.”
First of all, respectfully urge that the Joe Biden administration unequivocally declare that, “a unless the Maduro regime allows the opposition to present a presidential candidate of its choice without further delayUS authorities will rescind General License 44 authorizing oil and gas transactions in Venezuela and renew strong sanctions against it because officials were also found to be subverting democracy and engaging in egregious corruption«.
Secondly, they believe that “Capitulating to the arbitrary prohibition of the candidacy by the regime of the singular standard-bearer of the opposition, María Corina Machado, would lead to a fatal setback for democratic prospects in Venezuela.”
Given this, they requested that they publicly declare that María Corina Machado’s right to participate in the elections is a condition for the United States to extend sanctions relief and its recognition of the electoral results.
They stressed that they are aware that Machado and his campaign team continue to be the victims of credible threats to their personal security.. «Given that campaign of harassment and the recent murder of a dissident Venezuelan military officer in Chile, under suspicious circumstances, the United States government must warn Maduro that it will be responsible for continued threats or violence against Machado and her followers,” reads on the desktop.
Finally, they emphasize that if US diplomacy fails to adopt a clear position on these issues, they believe that Maduro will continue to trample on the Barbados agreement and destroy the prospects for a stable and democratic Venezuela.
«On the contrary, by insisting that Maduro respect the will of primary voters and raising the cost of failing to do so, the United States will keep faith with millions of Venezuelans who have fought for decades to restore their country’s prosperity, the institutions and the economy through democratic means«, they conclude.
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2024-10-02 11:29:29
