Ranking Members Shaheen and Meeks, Senator Kaine, Representative Castro Lead Group of Democrats on Statement on the Maduro Regime’s Ongoing Violence Against the Venezuelan People

WASHINGTON - Today, U.S. Senators Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Tim Kaine (D-VA), Chris Coons (D-DE), Jacky Rosen (D-NV), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Cory Booker (D-NJ) and Representatives Gregory W. Meeks (D-NY), Ranking Member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Joaquin Castro (D-TX), Greg Stanton (D-AZ), Sydney Kamlager-Dove (D-CA) and Jared Moskowitz (D-FL) issued a statement on Venezuela's inauguration and the Maduro regime's ongoing violence against the Venezuelan people:

"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 is a clear example of the climate of fear in which the Venezuelan people are living.

"The United States and its partners must redouble collective efforts that work 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."

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