As Venezuela's Presidential Elections draw closer in July, few in the United States expect the results to be legitimate, and a recent bill presented in the South American country's legislature only reinforces the notion. Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) issued a bipartisan statement with Senators Bill Cassidy (R-LA) and Ben Cardin (D-MD) condemning the regime of Nicolas Maduro and his persecution of opposition leader Maria Corina Machado, saying, "As the Venezuelan dictatorship seeks to prolong its illegitimate grip on power, the United States and the international community must respond swiftly and hold the regime accountable."
In October, the Biden Administration helped mediate an agreement between the Maduro regime and Machado's opposition in Barbados, which would lift some U.S. sanctions on Venezuela so long as its elections were fair and observable by third parties.
However, by January, the Maduro regime, through the Supreme Court of Venezuela, arbitrarily ruled Machado was indefinitely disqualified from running in the Presidential Election. Sen. Rubio and Representative Maria Elvira Salazar (R-FL) condemned the Biden Administration for thinking Maduro would keep his promise in the Barbados Agreement and demanded the reinstatement of sanctions.
Despite this, the Biden Administration recently signaled they would not reimpose the sanctions, which Senator Rick Scott (R-FL) decried as "ridiculous."
More to the point, Venezuela recently passed a so-called "anti-fascism" law justifying further crushing of dissent in the country. Machado wrote that "[Her] teams throughout the country are at risk of forthcoming forced disappearances and I myself could be subject to unjustified detention."
In Rubio's joint statement with Sen. Cassidy and Sen. Cardin, they echo Machado's concern, saying, "Any attack against Machado’s integrity, including arbitrary arrests, must be met with an international response."
Moreover, they stated, "Let there be no doubt, the upcoming elections will not be free, fair, nor democratic and both the Biden Administration and the international community must hold Maduro accountable. The recent move to pass Venezuela’s so-called anti-fascism law is further proof that civil society, political opposition, and freedom of the press have no place in Venezuela."
Finally, Rubio concluded, "As the Venezuelan dictatorship seeks to prolong its illegitimate grip on power, the United States and the international community must respond swiftly and hold the regime accountable."
