The State Department released a statement Monday condemning the Nicolas Maduro regime’s interference in Venezuela’s legislative elections that took place Sunday.
“On December 6, the illegitimate Maduro regime in Venezuela staged a political farce intended to look like legislative elections. Fortunately, few were fooled,” wrote Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.
Sec. Pompeo stated that the Venezuelan elections failed to meet credible standards and were clearly rigged by the Maduro regime “through the illegal seizure of political parties’ names and ballot logos, manipulation of the process by his loyalist electoral council, violence and intimidation, and other undemocratic tactics.”
“The European Union, the Organization of American States, the Lima Group, and the International Contact Group,” agree with Pompeo’s assessment and have joined the U.S. in condemning the elections.
The Trump Administration has been outspoken in its support of Interim President and opposition leader Juan Guaidó since Venezuela’s 2018 elections, which the U.S. did not recognize as legitimate.
Pompeo stated that the U.S. will continue to support Guaidó in light of Sunday’s elections and urged other nations to follow suit.
“Neither Maduro nor a new, fraudulently elected National Assembly will represent the legitimate voice of the Venezuelan people, which should be expressed through free and fair presidential elections,” Pompeo stated.
In power since 2013, the Maduro regime has a history of responding to political opposition with violence and imprisonment, which hinders the possibility of holding legitimate elections.
In 2018, Human Rights Watch reported a humanitarian crisis in Venezuela with severe food and medicine shortages and 17 percent of children suffering from malnutrition.
The Maduro regime has the support of Russia, China, Cuba, Iran, and the military powers connected to The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).
Despite actively engaging in various human rights abuses, Venezuela is currently a member of the United Nations Human Rights Council, and their term is not scheduled to expire until 2022.
