The Secretary of State of the United States, Antony Blinken, accused the Government of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro of holding flawed regional elections this Sunday that “skewed the process” to enter the result in favor of his party. Thus, Washington rejects the elections, even with the presence of observers from the European Union. In return, ALBA and the governments of Cuba, Nicaragua and Bolivia congratulated Chavismo.
There were several on Monday the leaders of the continent who questioned the elections in Venezuela, in which without many surprises the ruling party won the majority of the votes. Chavismo, and its United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV), won the local elections this Sunday, November 21, in 205 mayors of the country of the 322 that already have confirmed results, the National Electoral Council reported on Monday.
However, according to the United States, the government of President Nicolás Maduro did nothing more than “once again” deprive Venezuelans of participating in a “fair and free” electoral process.
The US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, did not hesitate to declare in a statement that “the regime altered the process to determine the outcome of these elections long before the ballots were cast.” To illustrate his claims, the chief of US diplomacy cited the criminalization of the opposition, the vetoes of candidates from across the political spectrum and even the manipulation of the voter registry.
Blinken also emphasized the “arbitrary” detention of more than 250 individuals for political reasons, “denying Venezuelans their rights to freely express their opinions and elect their own leaders.” The Secretary of State finally concluded that these practices were carried out to “guarantee that the elections do not reflect the will of the Venezuelan people.”
He also recalled that his government supports the negotiations between Venezuelans and the efforts of the opposition leader Juan Guaidó, whom the United States calls the “interim president” of Venezuela, after questioning the legitimacy of Maduro’s last re-election.