HIALEAH GARDENS—During a press conference held at the historic Assault Brigade 2506 Museum, where House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul (R-TX) and members of Florida’s congressional delegation—Reps. Michael Waltz, Mario Diaz-Balart, Debbie Wasserman Schultz, Jared Moskowitz, and Maria Elvira Salazar—took part in a roundtable discussion to commemorate the 2 year anniversary of the Cuban protests against the regime in Cuba, members were asked what should the U.S. do with the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Venezuela.
Academic and economic experts in the region have been expressing their concerns about the existing sanctions that have been levied on Dictator Maduro’s regime, saying that the sanctions should be revisited considering that Maduro has been able to skirt around them with the help of the ‘Axis of Evil’ in the hemisphere—China, Russia, and Iran.
These same experts believe that while sanctions would be readdressed, negotiations to bring on free and fair elections and an end to the Maduro oppression of the Venezuelan people need to occur first.
Rep. Wasserman Schultz, who represents the largest Venezuelan community in the U.S., reiterated the need for “free and fair elections” and “until there is tangible progress” in Venezuela.
Rep. Wasserman Schultz did not mince her words about how she felt about the Cuban and Venezuelan governments, saying that pressure on these regimes needed to continue in order to effect change.
“Freedom is rarely won when you take the boot off the neck of the oppressor. We have to also balance though that people are suffering on the island and people suffering in Venezuela. We need to make sure that humanitarian assistance is able to get through. There has to be continued conversations to allow that because Maduro has not allowed that and has been very challenging to deal with,” said Wasserman Schultz. “I agree with the chairman that the transition to a coalition opposition has made things a little more difficult to manage but the goal here is that we truly get both sides back to the table in Mexico so that we can ensure that they go through a real negotiation.”
Wasserman Schultz added that even though she doubts that Maduro will come back to the, economic hardships that he has brought upon the Venezuelan people will not, cannot be lifted until “is real tangible progress, free and fair elections are scheduled, and the agreement that is reached, if Maduro has the nerve to come back to the table, is proven and viable.”
Chairman McCaul believes that the world “missed an opportunity” when then-opposition leader Juan Guaidó was forced out of Venezuela, and reiterated the threat that China, Russia, and Iran posed to Democracy as they continue to increase their foothold in the region.
“I thought with Guaido we had a real opportunity to take back that country. The military had to go with Guaido, but unfortunately, Maduro was able to keep them oppressed and that transition never took place, so I think we missed a window of opportunity, but its imperative that all Venezuelans that live in the United States, stand with the country and the people of Venezuela, who are so oppressed,” said Rep. McCaul. “You can’t dissect them, they are all foreign nation adversaries, and I think when it comes to our hemisphere, we need to wake.”
