Despite not recognizing Maduro’s victory in the elections, the Joe Biden government denied having proposed an amnesty and stated that it is exploring other options to pressure the Venezuelan president to restore democracy in the country.
The United States on Monday denied claims that it had offered amnesty to President Nicolás Maduro following his declared re-election for a third term in the July 28 elections.
Vedant Patel, deputy spokesman for the State Department, denied in a press conference the claims of the newspaper The Wall Street Journal, which suggested that the Joe Biden administration “would have proposed an amnesty to Maduro” to persuade him to leave power before his term ends in January.
«That is not true. We have not made any offer of amnesty to Ripe nor to other people after the elections»Patel said. They do, however, reject the rise in violence and the unjust mass incarceration to which the country has been exposed.
#Attention | The US State Department denied that it has offered amnesty to Nicolás Maduro since the election. Vedant Patel, a spokesman for the department, clarified that the US is considering various options to put pressure on Maduro, but has not proposed an amnesty. pic.twitter.com/qulOHeFzja
— La FM (@lafm) August 12, 2024
However, he noted that the United States is considering «a wide range of options» to pressure Maduro to return to the democratic path, provided that Chavismo and the opposition «Start talks for a peaceful transition».
*Read also: Jorge Rodríguez proposes regulating the operation of social networks in the country
The Wall Street Journal, citing three anonymous sources in the US government, reported that the United States had offered pardons to Maduro and senior Chavista officials with charges from the Justice Department in order to convince them to leave power.
The newspaper also reported that the US government would be willing to provide guarantees of non-persecution against government figures for their extradition, according to information from another source.
Post Views: 216
