Former Ibero-American presidents: any attempt at fraud in Venezuela must be punished

Bogotá, Jul 24 (EFE).- A group of former Ibero-American presidents, who are part of the Liberty and Democracy Group, said on Wednesday that Any attempt at fraud in Venezuela’s presidential elections, which will be held on Sunday, must be sanctioned by the international community.

“Any attempt at fraud must be punished with the maximum sanctions, and effective international prosecution must be carried out against Nicolás Maduro and his closest circle,” Libertad y Democracia said in a statement.

The group is made up of the Dominican president, Luis Abinader, and the former presidents of the Spanish Government, José María Aznar and Mariano Rajoy, as well as the former presidents Mario Abdo Benítez, from Paraguay; Jeanine Áñez and Jorge Quiroga, from Bolivia; Felipe Calderón and Vicente Fox, from Mexico, and Iván Duque and Andrés Pastrana, from Colombia.

Former presidents Osvaldo Hurtado, Jamil Mahuad and Guillermo Lasso of Ecuador; Rafael Calderón and Miguel Ángel Rodríguez of Costa Rica; Mireya Moscoso of Panama and Mauricio Macri of Argentina are also part of this initiative.

Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaidó and former Puerto Rican governor Luis Fortuño are also members.

Ten candidates will participate in Sunday’s elections, including President Nicolás Maduro and former ambassador Edmundo González Urrutia, the standard-bearer of the opposition coalition Democratic Unitary Platform (PUD) and who leads the voting intention, according to traditional pollsters.

“Despite the obstacles imposed by the dictatorship, an electoral process will be held on July 28 in which figures such as María Corina Machado and Corina Lloris have been disqualified. Today, Edmundo González has united the resistance, thanks to the leadership of María Corina Machado, showing broad popular support in the face of scant support for the dictator,” the former presidents said.

They also expressed confidence that Venezuela will embark on a new “path to democracy” that will lead to a “political, economic and social rebirth after years of the region’s greatest migration crisis.”

“Given the reality that Venezuela faces today, there are only two possible scenarios on July 28: the resounding triumph of democratic effervescence or the abusive theft of the elections by the dictatorial regime of Nicolás Maduro,” warned the Liberty and Democracy Group.

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