United Nations (United States) (AFP) – The United States led some 30 countries in a call Thursday to maintain pressure on Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, urging him to engage in dialogue with the opposition after a disputed election. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and his counterpart from Argentina together led a meeting on Venezuela’s political crisis on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly.
“The regime may try to obscure the results, but the Venezuelan people have spoken,” Blinken said. “Now, our job is to ensure their voices are heard.” Blinken emphasized that Maduro must be urged “to engage in a direct dialogue with Venezuela’s united democratic opposition that leads to a peaceful return to democracy.”
In a joint statement, the United States and 30 other countries urged Maduro to start “constructive and inclusive discussions” on a democratic transition and to immediately release Venezuelans detained in the election aftermath. “We stand with the millions of Venezuelans who continue to risk their lives and well-being to demand a more democratic, prosperous and secure future for themselves and their country,” the statement said.
The statement was signed by fellow Western powers including Spain, Canada, Germany, and Britain. However, in Latin America, the statement was backed largely by conservative governments and not by Brazil, Mexico, and Colombia—the three most populous nations in the region, which are all led by leftists.
The United States initially hoped for quiet progress through diplomacy from the three countries, which have called on Maduro to release detailed vote tallies. However, the United States has since called for greater pressure and has distanced itself from calls by the Latin American leftists for a fresh election.
Maduro has claimed victory in Venezuela’s July 28 presidential election, despite it being contested by the opposition and much of the international community. The government-aligned CNE electoral council declared him the winner hours after voting closed, giving him 52 percent of ballots cast without providing a full breakdown. The opposition has published its own polling station-level data, claiming that 74-year-old retired diplomat Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia won by a landslide.
Facing an arrest warrant in Venezuela, Gonzalez Urrutia fled to Spain earlier this month and was granted political asylum there. “We must continue to call on the Maduro regime to stop its repression of peaceful protestors, stop its repression of political opponents, and immediately and unconditionally release all those who’ve been arbitrarily detained—including children,” Blinken said.
Washington has accused Maduro of clinging to power by force but has so far refrained from strengthening sanctions against Venezuelan oil. At the ministerial meeting Thursday, Argentine Foreign Minister Diana Mondino stated that Maduro’s government “couldn’t care less” about Venezuelans, noting that 7.8 million people have fled the country in recent years to escape economic misery. “They have oil; they have corruption,” Mondino said of Maduro’s regime. “They don’t care about their own people.”
© 2024 AFP
