An official with the U.S. Department of State has denied claims made in media reports that it had made an offer of amnesty to Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro.
Presidential elections were held in Venezuela on July 28. Maduro was declared the winner, but this has been contested ever since, with the opposition claiming they won in a landslide. Thousands of Venezuelans have also taken to the streets in protest, claiming opposition candidate Edmundo González Urrutia had actually won and Maduro stole the election.
In an Aug. 11 report from the Wall Street Journal, it was claimed the State Department was considering amnesty for Maduro and his top lieutenants in exchange for ceding power peacefully, citing people familiar with the matter.
“That is not true. We’ve not made any offers of amnesty to Maduro or others since this election,” he said.
“We reject the increased violence, the unjust mass incarceration, and the repression directed at Venezuelans, including members of the democratic opposition.”
Since the election, protests have been ongoing in several Venezuelan cities, with demonstrators tearing down Maduro’s posters and toppling statues of former President Hugo Chavez, whom Maduro succeeded in 2013.
Mass arrests, incarceration and other violence have been ongoing as well, with Maduro scrambling to restore order by any means necessary. He blames González Urrutia and popular opposition leader María Corina Machado for the violence. At this stage, it’s estimated the death toll since the protests began has reached 25.
Following the election, Maduro signed a resolution blocking access to the social media platform X for 10 days, claiming misinformation was being spread about the election result. Maduro has frequently criticized X owner Elon Musk after the Tesla and Space X entrepreneur called him a dictator and accused him of carrying out “major election fraud.”
According to Patel, the United States has been considering options to ensure the peaceful handover of power in the country, but that does not include amnesty for anyone.
“As Secretary Blinken has said, now is the time for the Venezuelan parties to begin discussions on a respectful and peaceful transition in accordance with Venezuelan electoral law and the wishes of the Venezuelan people,” he said.
“The U.S. is considering a range of options to pressure Maduro to return Venezuela to a democratic path and will continue to do so, but the responsibility is on Maduro and Venezuela’s electoral authorities to come clean on the election results,” Patel added.
