Salazar Demands President Biden Reimpose Sanctions on Maduro Regime

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, House Foreign Affairs, Western Hemisphere Subcommittee Chairwoman María Elvira Salazar (R-FL) sent a letter to President Biden demanding the Administration reimpose sanctions on the socialist Maduro regime for violating the agreement Biden negotiated with Nicolás Maduro on October 17th, 2023.

“Dictator Nicolás Maduro wants to handpick an opposition candidate that is not a threat to him,” wrote Chairwoman Salazar. “This is a clear breach of the agreement reached on the 17th of October in Barbados which you facilitated. As such, you must keep the agreement and reimpose sanctions.”

Maduro has repeatedly proven to the world that he is unwilling to hold free and fair elections in Venezuela, despite presidential elections scheduled to occur by the end of the next year. He has consistently attempted to thwart his main opposition figure, María Corina Machado, by declaring her campaign illegal in June 2023 and using violence and intimidation tactics to suppress her grassroots campaign efforts across Venezuela. These attacks were thoroughly rebuked by Chairwoman Salazar, who urged President Biden in a letter to protect María Corina while introducing legislation to protect her candidacy.

President Biden agreed to a deal with the brutal Maduro regime in October 2023 to establish fair and democratic presidential elections. In exchange, the Biden Administration removed sanctions on Venezuelan oil, gas, and gold. Nicolás Maduro immediately violated the agreement when he, in the same month, suspended the results of the primary elections where María Corina won more than 90% of the more than 2.5 million votes cast by Venezuelans across the world.

The United States must adhere to the agreement made with the Maduro regime by reimposing sanctions on their exports.

As Chairwoman of the Western Hemisphere Subcommittee, Chairwoman Salazar is focused on helping individuals suffering under socialist regimes like those in Cuba, Venezuela, and Nicaragua. She has sponsored numerous pieces of legislation to accomplish this goal in Venezuela and to defend the exile community, including the AFFECT Human Rights in Venezuela Act and the Venezuelan Adjustment Act.

Read the full text of the letter HERE.

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