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The State Department on Monday denied a Wall Street Journal report that claimed the Biden administration had provided Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro amnesty in alternate for him stepping down from his 11-year reign.
“That is not true,” Principal Deputy Spokesperson Vedant Patel advised reporters throughout the question-and-answer portion of a press briefing Monday. “We have not made any offers to Maduro or others since this election.”
Patel’s feedback had been in stark distinction to claims made by “three people familiar with the Biden administration deliberation[s]” concerning secret conferences held in Doha, Qatar in June and September 2023 between the U.S. and Venezuela, in keeping with the Wall Street Journal report.
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro holds a information convention on the Miraflores presidential palace in Caracas, Venezuela, July 31, 2024, three days after his disputed reelection. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix, File)
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Details following the conferences have been scarce, although experiences launched final yr indicated that chief adviser to Maduro, Jorge Rodríguez, and the White House National Security Council’s former senior director for the Western Hemisphere, Juan González, met no less than twice to debate an array of points on high of the alleged amnesty proposal, together with sanctions reduction, in keeping with a doc posted by Maduro to X. The U.S., nonetheless, has by no means verified this data.
The Wall Street Journal report additional recommended that Maduro’s high officers going through judicial indictments over offenses referring to costs of conspiring to export cocaine to the U.S., may additionally see amnesty agreements.
The State Department didn’t return Fox News Digital’s questions concerning the Wall Street Journal report, although a spokesperson for the White House National Security Council echoed the division’s claims.
“Since the July 28 election, we have not made any specific offers of amnesty to Nicolás Maduro or others,” Director of Strategic Communications and Assistant Spokesperson to the National Security Council Vanessa Vidal Castellanos advised Fox News Digital.
“In coordination with our partners, we are considering a range of options to incentivize and pressure Maduro to recognize the election results and will continue to do so, but the responsibility is on Maduro and the Venezuela’s electoral authorities to come clean on the election results,” she added.
According to the report, an amnesty proposal was allegedly floated as a technique to incentivize Maduro to step down earlier than his time period was set to finish.
Opponents of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro’s authorities protest in Caracas on July 29, 2024, a day after the Venezuelan presidential election. (Raul Arboleda/AFP by way of Getty Images)
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But Maduro was reportedly unwilling to “discuss arrangements where he would have to leave office” — a place he has solely doubled-down on for the reason that nationwide election final month.
Despite worldwide requires the Venezuelan president to step apart amid mounting proof that reveals he misplaced to opposition chief Edmundo González, Maduro has refused to relinquish his energy.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken echoed these calls final week and mentioned, “In the days since the election, we have consulted widely with partners and allies around the world, and while countries have taken different approaches in responding, none have concluded that Nicolás Maduro received the most votes this election.”
“Given the overwhelming evidence, it is clear to the United States and, most importantly, to the Venezuelan people that Edmundo González Urrutia won the most votes in Venezuela’s July 28 presidential election.”
An military soldier holds a poll field as he takes half in a navy parade displaying electoral materials for use within the upcoming presidential elections at Fuerte Tiuna in Caracas on July 24, 2024. (STRINGER/AFP by way of Getty Images)
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The UN General Assembly has provided to mediate the election outcomes as a 3rd celebration to resolve the rising unrest in Venezuela.
Despite mounting stress to step down, Maduro’s regime has arrested 1000’s of protesters and dissidents, maintained navy loyalty and has elected the pro-Maduro Supreme Court to resolve any election disputes.
Maduro’s place on leaving workplace is reported to be “unchanged.”
