Biden admin's approach not enough to help Venezuela with its socialist dictator problem: analysts

Diplomatic moves by the Biden administration are far from helping Venezuela transition out of its dictatorship and back toward a democratic system, following the country's apparently fraudulent election in July, according to national security experts and a review of declarations and public records.

Venezuela's current president, Nicolás Maduro, widely considered a socialist dictator, declared himself victor in the country's July 29 election, despite national and international concerns that he rigged the race. The Biden administration, which has had problems in treat with the country's formerly authoritarian government, he faces a new challenge in navigating how to deal with Maduro and his refusal to stand by.

“The reality is that now we're going with a strategy where we're not pushing hard on the Maduro regime,” Andrés Martínez-Fernandez, senior policy analyst for Latin America at The Heritage Foundation, told DCNF. “And everything is favorable to the regime because it keeps it under control.”

“[The Biden administration will offer] vague words of support for the (Venezuelan) people after an obviously fraudulent election, but they do nothing to destabilize a regime they want a deal with,” said Victoria Coates, senior advocacy director at the Heritage Foundation and former security adviser national of the White House, Victoria Coates. statement following the elections.

The Biden administration has tried to work diplomatically with Venezuela, a hotspot for illegal immigration to the U.S. and an oil-rich nation, starting in 2021, though attempts have been largely unsuccessful. Administration lifts sanctions against Venezuela's oil sector by end of 2023 to move he sought to open the country's energy channels and lower world and US oil prices, in exchange for a promise that Maduro would hold free and fair elections this year.

The penalties were reimposed in April by the administration, which claimed that the Maduro regime had shown that it was not interested in allowing an open democratic process to develop. ripe hindered many of their political opponents will not appear at the polls by weaponizing the country's legal system against them and banning the government.

The Biden administration and a number of Latin Americans nations have refused to recognize Maduro's victory in July as legitimate, citing reports of independently conducted vote counts indicating that Maduro's political opponent, Edmundo González, won. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in one statement on August 1 that it was “time for Venezuelan parties to begin discussions on a peaceful and respectful transition” of power away from Maduro to Gonzalez.

But Maduro remains refusing leave, and the government's top prosecutor issued a criminal investigation on Monday against González and his party ally, Maria Machado, both of whom have fled into hiding for fear of arrest or death if law enforcement finds them . Demonstrators have taken to the streets of Venezuela to demand the resignation of Maduro, who has suffered a brutal repression by the forces of order.

“Maduro is largely immune to Western pressure,” said Oliver Stuenkel, a political analyst at the Getulio Vargas Foundation. he said The Washington Post last week. “It does not depend much on friendly relations with them.”

A State Department spokesperson told the DCNF that the United States is “coordinating with our international partners” to support “an inclusive, Venezuelan-led process of restoring democratic norms.”

“We are working with our partners on this – look no further than the president's call [Brazilian President Lula da Silva] last week,” the spokesman told the DCNF. “Meanwhile, we strongly condemn all political violence and repression. Secretary Blinken spoke separately on August 3 with Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia and Maria Corina Machado to express the concerns of the United States for their safety and well-being after the elections.”

The US still has existing sanctions on Venezuela, but has not announced plans for new sanctions, which against military officials would be useful, Martínez-Fernández told the DCNF, because it would undermine Maduro's only real protection from being ousted. The Biden administration could also choose to bring criminal charges through vessels, including the International Criminal Court.

The Biden administration has yet to take these other actions to support a transition to a democratic system in Venezuela.

“The Biden administration is putting all its eggs in the basket of diplomatic and negotiated resolution … they're talking about the need for transparency and the need for the parties to have dialogue, all very soft statements,” Martinez said -Fernández at the DCNF. . “Certainly, this will have no impact as far as the Venezuelan regime is concerned, or a possible exit through negotiations.”

More than 2,200 people have been arrested by Venezuelan law enforcement since the July 28 election. seconds in the Washington Post. Human rights group Victims Monitor says at least 23 people have been killed so far by Maduro-aligned forces during the protests.

Maduro's government warned this week that in addition to protesters, journalists working for international networks may also be targeted by law enforcement, claiming they were undercover CIA agents, according to the Post.

“What did that do [election] what was different was that, for the first time in years, the Venezuelan people had genuine hope for change,” Eric Farnsworth, vice president of the Council of the Americas and Society of the Americas, he said the Boston Globe on Monday. “But Maduro has closed the door on any hope of peaceful change.”

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