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Reimposed sanctions on Maduro are overdue and insufficient
U.S. Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL)
April 19, 2024
…Last October, the United States waived constraints on Venezuela’s state-run oil, gas, and gold sectors in exchange for Maduro’s promise to administer a “free and fair” presidential election this year. That was a naïve decision with devastating consequences….
[President Biden] should have known Maduro would not keep his promises. What incentive does the narco-dictator have to allow the Venezuelan people to vote him out of office? …Beyond that, what is Maduro’s track record for negotiating in good faith?
Moreover, President Biden should have reimposed sanctions as soon as Maduro arbitrarily detained members of Machado’s campaign team…. But even when Maduro placed a ban on Machado, President Biden only restored sanctions on Venezuela’s state-run gold sector. That allowed the narco-regime to rake in roughly billions from oil and gas profits during February, March, and early April….
[This has] only emboldened Maduro. Just recently, the narco-dictator threatened open war against Guyana, a democracy with close economic ties to our government. Meanwhile, Venezuelans are no closer to being free from oppression….
My colleagues and I have repeatedly urged President Biden to maintain the 60 country-strong coalition that rejects Maduro’s legitimacy. Instead of going soft on the narco-dictator, the United States should collaborate with democratic partners to impose additional sanctions…and to enforce the 2020 indictment against Maduro and his cronies for terrorism, corruption, and drug trafficking.
Would these moves solve every problem in Venezuela? No. Nevertheless, they would help constrain the regime’s tyranny and diminish its cash flow…. President Biden’s strategy of appeasement has only prolonged Maduro’s grip on power.