WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Senator Ben Cardin (D-Md.), Chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, along with Senators Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), and Bill Cassidy M.D. (R-La.), issued a joint statement following the exile of Venezuelan opposition candidate, Edmundo González Urrutia.
“More than a month after facing defeat at the polls, dictator Nicolás Maduro’s authoritarian crackdown persists. Rather than providing evidence to support his fraudulent claims of electoral victory, Maduro has resorted to his usual playbook of violent repression and the use of his security services to censure and repress those peaceful protesters demanding that their vote be respected. This brutal crackdown has been categorized as ‘state terrorism’ by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR).
“The exile of Edmundo González Urrutia, amid relentless threats to his and his family’s safety from Maduro and his enablers, marks another stain on Maduro’s shameful and anti-democratic record. González Urrutia was overwhelmingly elected by the Venezuelan people on July 28, 2024. This blatant disregard for the democratic will of the Venezuelan people must not stand unchallenged by the international community.
“Our country, and the global community, are once again united in condemning Maduro’s campaign of repression and intimidation. We will continue to call for the restoration of democracy and human rights in Venezuela, while strongly demanding accountability for the crimes against humanity both he and his inner circle have committed. We call for the immediate release of all political prisoners and the end of Maduro’s attacks against the Venezuelan people, including against opposition leader María Corina Machado and members of her team who remain the targets of persecution. While González Urrutia is now forced to live outside of his homeland, our collective commitment to a free, fair, and democratic Venezuela remains.”
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