Rubio, Cardin, Cassidy Condemn Maduro's Elimination of Opposition Ahead of Venezuelan Elections

Venezuela is set to hold presidential elections at the end of July, but few expect the contest to be fair as long as dictator Nicolas Maduro's regime remains in power. Ahead of the upcoming elections, Senators Marco Rubio (R-FL), Ben Cardin (D-MD), and Bill Cassidy (R-LA) issued a joint statement condemning the Maduro regime and its efforts to rig the vote in their favor.

"The ongoing political persecution of María Corina Machado and her team, the arrest of members of her campaign, the refusal to provide safe passage out of the country for democratic opposition members that have sought refuge in the Argentine embassy, the repeated transfer of political prisoners from house detention to centers with brutal human rights conditions, and recent reports of torture against military political prisoners are just some examples," Sen. Rubio stated.

Maduro's crackdown on Machado and her supporters has been intense and arbitrary, with the Venezuelan Supreme Court arbitrarily ruling the opposition leader as indefinitely disqualified from running in the election in January.

Sen. Rubio and Representative Maria Elvira Salazar (R-FL) railed against the decision and condemned the Biden Administration's lack of sanctions renewal.

However, by mid-April, the Biden Administration did reimpose sanctions, but with a 45-day grace period to allow for continued oil exports.

More egregiously, the decision came just days after the Venezuelan legislature passed a so-called "anti-fascism" law that justified the continued persecution of Machado and other dissidents, which Machado said, "[Her] teams throughout the country are at risk of forthcoming forced disappearances, and I myself could be subject to unjustified detention."

As a result, Rubio, Cassidy, and Cardin said, "We strongly condemn this dangerous environment of intimidation, which erodes the credibility of the ongoing electoral process, leaving us with little doubt that the July 28th election will not meet conditions to be free, fair, nor democratic."

Additionally, they called for the release of all political prisoners in Venezuela and increased sanctions on individuals perpetrating these acts of political intimidation, arbitrary detention, and torture within the Maduro regime.