Lawmakers Blast Venezuela Court Decision, Renew Call for Sanctions
Several lawmakers urged the Biden administration to reimpose sanctions on Venezuela after the country’s supreme court barred opposition leader Maria Corina Machado from this year’s presidential election.
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In a joint statement on Jan. 29, Sen. Jim Risch, R-Idaho, the ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee; Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas, chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee; and Rep. Maria Salazar, R-Fla., chairwoman of the Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere, accused the government of President Nicolas Maduro of “backtracking” on its commitments to the U.S.
“It’s past time the Biden administration hold Maduro accountable,” the lawmakers said. In addition to immediately reinstating sanctions, the administration should "urge the European Union and other regional partners in the Western Hemisphere to match our sanctions, and seek international cooperation for the arrest and extradition of Nicolas Maduro. We must deny the Maduro regime the resources to commit gross violations of internationally recognized human rights and threaten regional and international peace.”
Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., a senior member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, issued a similar statement on Jan. 28. “I warned the Biden administration back in October when they broadly eased sanctions in their deal with Maduro that follow-through would be everything," he said. "This news out of Venezuela should result in sanctions being immediately reimposed and not lifted until Ms. Machado is allowed to run in a truly free election."
The broad sanctions easing came after Venezuela’s government and opposition formally agreed to work together to ensure free and fair presidential elections (see 2310180070). However, in a Jan. 27 statement, State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller called the court decision “deeply concerning” and said the administration is reviewing its Venezuela sanctions policy.