Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro declared himself the winner of the recent presidential election despite the results suggesting that opposition leader Edmundo Gonzalez won by a considerable margin. Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) recently issued a statement demanding the Biden-Harris Administration stand more firmly in support of Gonzalez, criticizing their previous concessions to the Maduro regime.
While the White House has said Maduro's fraudulent claim of victory has raised "serious concerns that the result announced does not reflect the will or the votes of the Venezuelan people," the lack of action in response has drawn Sen. Rubio's ire.
"The Biden-Harris Administration claimed concessions to the Maduro regime would secure a ''free and fair'' election process in Venezuela, yet we all know it was a farce. The ''strategies'' presented by this administration have done nothing but empower narco-dictator Maduro and his thugs. It's disgraceful the Biden-Harris Administration is unwilling to declare the victory of President-elect Edmundo Gonzalez while the regime has increased the repression," said the Florida Senator.
The Guardian provided chilling examples of the Maduro regime'sregime's crackdown as protests continue, with over 1100 people arrested, including opposition leaders Freddy Superlano, dragged out of his home by masked men, and Maria Oropeza, who was arrested in the middle of an Instagram livestream.
"Any negotiations are a continued lifeline to the narco-regime. The tenacity of the Venezuelan people was on full display as they proudly voted and peacefully demonstrated their strong desire for freedom. Our nation's message must be clear: We stand for freedom, we recognize Edmundo González as the President-elect, and that Maduro'sMaduro's illegitimate reign must come to an end," Sen. Rubio concluded.
The opposition to Maduro'sMaduro's fraudulent claims of electoral victory has proven bipartisan, as the Florida Democratic Party issued a statement just after the election saying it "unequivocally condemns Nicolas Madura'sMadura's attempt to steal the Venezuelan presidential election. Free and fair elections are the cornerstone of the democratic process, and the will of the Venezuelan people - clearly expressed in yesterday's yesterday's exit polls - must prevail."
