By Luis De Jesus
Aug 12, 2024, 8:08 PM EDT
The US government has denied offering Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro amnesty to step down from power.
The denial comes after the publication of a report in The Wall Street Journal which claimed that the Biden administration would have proposed such an offer to persuade Maduro to leave office before the end of his term in January.
Vedant Patel, deputy spokesman for the State Department, rejected the allegations during a press conference. He said no amnesty offer had been made to the socialist leader or to other individuals connected to the recent elections in Venezuela.
Despite the refusal, the US official stressed that the United States is evaluating various strategies to pressure Maduro and encourage a return to democracy in Venezuela.
He also stressed the need for Chavismo and the opposition to begin a dialogue for a peaceful transition.
The report of The Wall Street Journal cited three anonymous sources who alleged that the United States had offered pardons to Maduro and several senior Chavista officials in order to achieve their removal from power.
In contrast, the newspaper recalled that in 2020, the United States offered a $15 million reward for information leading to the arrest of Maduro, accused of drug trafficking.
Nicolás Maduro said last Friday that the United States would be willing to offer him “whatever” to get him to leave power, but he demanded that the North American country stay away from Venezuela’s internal affairs.
Venezuela’s National Electoral Council has declared Maduro the winner of the July 28 election, but has not released any evidence and the opposition and parts of the international community have questioned the results.
The Biden administration maintains that the real winner, according to the minutes obtained by the opposition, is opposition candidate Edmundo González Urrutia.
The United States supports the mediation efforts carried out by Brazil, Colombia and Mexico, countries that maintain contact with Maduro, to verify the election results.
White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre also denied the amnesty offer and reiterated that Maduro must accept the election results.
According to Jean-Pierre, a large percentage of the records published by civil society and the opposition have been corroborated by independent observers and Maduro is expected to recognise these results.
Continue reading:
• María Corina Machado and Edmundo González call to “take to the streets” of Venezuela and the world
• Venezuela: Machado rejects new elections and offers opposition records for review
• Edmundo González demands that Maduro accept “what was expressed” in the presidential elections in Venezuela