Castro, Meeks, Shaheen, Kaine Lead Dem Statement on the Maduro Regime’s Ongoing Violence Against the Venezuelan People

Castro, Meeks, Shaheen, Kaine Lead Dem Statement on the Maduro Regime's Ongoing Violence Against the Venezuelan People

WASHINGTON - Today, Congressman Joaquin Castro (TX-20) and House Foreign Affairs Committee Ranking Member Gregory W. Meeks (NY-05), along with Senate Foreign Relations Committee Ranking Member Jeanne Shaheen (NH) and Senator Tim Kaine (VA) led Democrats in issuing a statement condemning the Maduro regime's escalating authoritarianism and calling for urgent bipartisan action to support the Venezuelan people and uphold democratic values.

Joining the statement are Representatives Greg Stanton (AZ-04), Sydney Kamlager-Dove (CA-37), and Jared Moskowitz (FL-23), and Senators Chris Coons (DE), Jacky Rosen (NV), Jeff Merkley (OR), Chris Van Hollen (MD), and Cory Booker (NJ).

"Maduro's actions today continue to undermine the electoral will of the Venezuelan people who voted resoundingly for Edmundo González on July 28, 2024. No amount of state violence, repression, or disinformation can change that fact. As nations around the world have already expressed, a return to democracy is the only path toward economic prosperity, security, and a better future for the Venezuelan people.

"Over the last six months, the Maduro regime has barred candidates from participating in the election, arbitrarily detained opposition figures, censored the media, and laid siege to a diplomatic compound. This week's abduction and temporary detention of opposition leader María Corina Machado was unacceptable, dangerous, and a clear example of the climate of fear in which the Venezuelan people are living.

"The United States and its partners must work collectively to support a democratic, just and peaceful outcome in Venezuela, including by continuing to expediently implement targeted sanctions on those individuals complicit in the violence that has taken place since July, and demanding the immediate release of the hundreds of political prisoners, including American hostages, in Maduro's custody."