During a US Congressional hearing, Brian Nichols, the State Department’s head of Latin America, said that the US is in contact with its partners in the region to address the situation in Venezuela.
For the United States, participation in the upcoming presidential elections in Venezuela will be key to the opposition’s victory on Sunday, July 28. These elections represent “an opportunity” for the country to return to “democracy.”
“The key parameter will be voter turnout. Polls indicate a clear lead for the opposition. We hope it will do well if its voters manage to vote,” he said. Brian Nicholsthe State Department’s representative for Latin America, during a hearing in Congress.
The diplomat acknowledged that there is “significant evidence” that the government of Nicolás Maduro has interfered in the elections by arresting opponents and disqualifying candidates, such as opposition leader María Corina Machado. However, he added that these elections are “an opportunity for a better future” in Venezuela.
He also indicated that the restoration of democracy in the country remains at the center of his foreign policy and sees this as a possibility. “We must prepare for the scenario in which Venezuela returns to a democratic regime in the future,” he said, according to information published by the news agency. EFE.
US follows Venezuelan elections with its allies
Nichols also explained that the US is in contact with its partners in the region to address the situation in Venezuela. Among them, he singled out Brazil, whose president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, criticized the Venezuelan president’s statements predicting a “bloodbath” if he loses the elections.
Despite being a historical ally of the Hugo Chávez and Maduro regime, Lula da Silva He said the comments scared him. “Maduro needs to learn that when you win, you stay; when you lose, you leave,” the Brazilian president added.
*Read also: US Ambassador: Electoral conditions in Venezuela are competitive but not ideal
Venezuela will hold presidential elections on Sunday in which the opposition, represented by candidate Edmundo González Urrutia, standard-bearer of the Democratic Unitary Platform (PUD), will seek to overthrow the Chavista leadership.
This hearing held in the US Congress was chaired by Republican María Elvira Salazar, who criticized the current Democratic government for its lack of interest in Latin America: “Joe Biden has made it clear that Latin America is not a priority; he has not sent a single Special Envoy to deal with crises such as the migration crisis in Central America or the elections in Venezuela,” she lamented.
With information from EFE
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