BOISE, Idaho – U.S. Senator Jim Risch, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, today issued the following statement regarding the upcoming illegitimate elections in Venezuela:
“The Venezuelan people continue to suffer atrocities at the hands of a nearly totalitarian, criminal regime. For more than a year, Nicolás Maduro has worked to consolidate power by violently attempting to take over the National Assembly, naming a regime-controlled electoral council, taking control of political parties across the ideological spectrum, and announcing sham legislative elections.
“The United States and the European Union have a shared interest in promoting and defending human rights and democratic values in Venezuela. Any agreements to delay the sham elections will only lend credibility to Maduro’s efforts to deprive the Venezuelan people of their last national democratic institution, and prolong the crisis he has created.
“It is imperative that the United States and our European friends remain resolute in support of the conditions laid out by Interim President Juan Guaidó – who is recognized as the legitimate leader by nearly 60 nations – as a pre-requisite for credible legislative elections so that the Venezuelan people may emerge from this humanitarian nightmare and return to democracy.”
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