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04 Apr 2024 | 20:45 UTC
Highlights
Former diplomats argue Venezuelan democracy at stake
US faces difficult decision ahead of April 18 deadline
Twenty former United States officials urged the Biden administration to reimpose sanctions on Venezuela if the current regime fails to live up to its democratic promises ahead of a looming expiration deadline.
In a letter dated April 3, a list of former US officials, diplomats and experts in Latin American politics pleaded with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken to revoke General License 44, which authorizes oil and gas transactions in Venezuela, unless President Nicolás Maduro allows all opposition candidates to run in the planned 2024 presidential elections, including Maria Corina Machado, whom the regime has already disqualified.
"We believe that capitulating to the regime's arbitrary ban on the candidacy of the opposition's singular standard-bearer, Maria Corina Machado, would deal a fatal setback to democratic prospects in Venezuela," the letter writes. "Therefore, we ask you to state publicly that Maria Corina Machado's rightful participation in the election is a condition to the United States extending sanctions relief or recognizing the electoral results."
The license was granted in 2023 after the Barbados Agreements, a pact between Maduro and Venezuelan opposition in which the president pledged to hold free and fair elections this year. The letter arrives two weeks before an April 18 deadline to revoke or extend GL44. The US has repeatedly said it expects Maduro to live up to the Barbados Agreement or face a sanctions snapback.
In recent months, however, Maduro has cracked down on political opposition and arrested civil rights advocates, moves that drew steady condemnation and warnings about sanctions from US officials in the White House and State Department.
In March, Maduro disqualified Machado, who overwhelmingly won a unified opposition primary in October 2023, from participating in the 2024 elections. When Machado's handpicked replacement, Corina Yoris, attempted to register as a candidate in March, the government prevented her from doing so. Both candidates would be likely to beat Maduro in a competitive election, according to pollsters(opens in a new tab).
The US State Department condemned the Venezuelan National Electoral Council's move and said it "runs counter to competitive and inclusive elections that the Venezuelan people and international community will view as legitimate." White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said the administration was "deeply concerned."
Experts have long expected sanctions to return.(opens in a new tab)
Still, according to a March 30 Washington Post report, senior administration officials are mulling alternative penalties they hope would punish the Maduro regime without increasing the number of migrants from the country or raising US gasoline prices. The administration is reportedly wary of Venezuela reverting to receiving more supplies from Iran and selling more of its oil to China. An extension of the current policy until elections are held on July 28 is also possible, analysts have said.
The April 3 letter pushes back against such hedges, arguing that the future of Venezuela's democracy is at stake.
"If U.S. diplomacy fails to take a clear stand on these issues, we believe Maduro will continue trampling on the Barbados agreement and destroying the prospects for a stable, democratic Venezuela," the letter writes. "In contrast, by insisting that Maduro respect the will of opposition primary voters and driving up the cost of his failure to do so, the United States will keep faith with millions of Venezuelans who have struggled for decades to restore their country's institutions and economy by democratic means."