The Biden administration stated on Monday (July 29th) that the reelection of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro lacks any credibility due to election manipulation issues. This statement by the United States government could potentially open the door to sanctions against Venezuela.
Venezuelan election authorities announced that Maduro won a third term, but independent exit polls show overwhelming support for the opposition.
The U.S. and other Western governments have expressed doubts about the official voting results released by Venezuela. The opposition candidate, Edmundo Gonzalez, claims he is the true winner.
According to Reuters, on Monday, senior U.S. officials briefed journalists on the situation regarding Sunday’s elections in Venezuela and strongly criticized the disputed election results.
During the briefing, these unnamed senior U.S. officials reiterated President Biden’s senior aide’s public demand for Maduro to disclose detailed vote statistics. The U.S. warned that if the Maduro government fails to do so, the international community will not accept its official announcement of the results.
While no new punitive measures were announced during the briefing, U.S. officials mentioned that the government will assess its sanction policy towards Venezuela based on any future actions taken by Maduro.
“We may be facing a new situation,” one U.S. official said. “We will consider this when planning the direction of sanctions against Venezuela.”
Another U.S. official stated, “Through repression and election manipulation, as well as declaring a winner without detailed vote count information in each district…Maduro’s representatives have stripped any credibility from their so-called election results.”
The U.S. officials did not provide specific details of electoral misconduct by the Maduro government. However, one official stated that the Election Commission’s statement is inconsistent with the data obtained through fast voting machine mechanisms and other sources.
Earlier on Monday, U.S. Secretary of State Blinken in Tokyo also questioned the election results. “We are very concerned that the announced results do not reflect the will or voting intentions of the Venezuelan people,” he said.
Hours after the Venezuelan election voting ended, authorities had not officially announced the results, leading to increasing doubts about the outcome.
After a long delay, the Venezuelan electoral center stated that Maduro won 51.2% of the vote, while his competitor Gonzalez received 44.2%. However, the banned opposition leader Maria Corina Machado stated that their own records show Gonzalez received 70% of the votes, while Maduro only got 30%.
According to Bloomberg, a poll conducted by the American Edison Research Company showed that Gonzalez won by over 30 percentage points.
Earlier on Monday, Maduro reiterated that Venezuela’s electoral system is transparent.
But White House spokesman John Kirby stated that the U.S. will withhold judgment until further information is obtained, followed by “appropriate responses.”
U.S. officials mentioned that they are coordinating responses with regional allies and will collaborate with international partners to assess the potential consequences the Maduro government may face.
Chilean President Gabriel Boric called the election results “incredible.” He stated on X that the Venezuelan people and the international community demand complete transparency in the voting and counting process, and request independent international observers to verify the results.
In a joint statement, foreign ministers from Argentina, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Guatemala, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, the Dominican Republic, and Uruguay echoed similar calls, emphasizing that transparent counting is the only way to ensure respect for the will of the Venezuelan voters.