Venezuela’s Maduro Brands Opposition ‘Terrorists’ After Cutting Deal with Biden to Allow Elections

Venezuela’s socialist dictator, Nicolás Maduro, accused the Venezuelan “opposition” on Wednesday of being “terrorists and extremists” who operate “outside the Constitution and the law.”

Maduro’s accusation was specifically directed at the Unitary Platform, the latest iteration of the Venezuelan “opposition” coalition, which the socialist regime met with for negotiations in Barbados last year intended to culminate in a “free and fair” presidential election sometime in 2024.

The Maduro regime has repeatedly broken the Barbados agreement by upholding bans on political opponents from running for office and launching a new crackdown against dissidents. The “Barbados Agreements” were done under the observation of the administration of leftist American President Joe Biden.

As a reward for the Maduro regime’s vague promises — and despite Maduro showing no apparent interest in fulfilling them —  Biden granted the socialist regime a generous oil and gas sanctions relief package, which is expected to expire in April.

Maduro accused the opposition of “terrorism” during a speech at the opening ceremony of Venezuela’s 2024 judicial year, where he remarked on the Venezuelan top court’s decision to uphold a ban on opposition presidential frontrunner María Corina Machado from holding public office.

“That decision was the product of an impeccable process of dialogue promoted by us, by the Bolivarian government, a process of persistent dialogue with the master and his servants,” Maduro said, referencing the United States and the Unitary Platform, respectively.

Venezuela’s socialist regime has consistently accused dissidents of being “lackeys” of the United States, a tactic shared with the other regional authoritarian regimes of Cuba and Nicaragua:

The socialist dictator availed himself of the opportunity to insult Machado, branding her as “Mrs. Hatred, Mrs. Tantrum, Mrs. Violence.”

Although the Venezuelan electoral authorities have not yet announced a date for the upcoming “free and fair” election, Maduro recently announced that his regime’s lawmakers will start working on an electoral schedule proposal next week. The socialist dictator has reiterated that the decision to ban Machado — who, according to polls published last year, would easily defeat him in a real election — is “firm” and will not be overturned.

In apparent discord with Maduro’s remarks, his longtime henchman and alleged drug lord, Diosdado Cabello, suggested on his Con el Mazo Dando (“Hitting with the Mallet”) socialist television show that the sham electoral event could take place in March.

“At the rate we are going, the elections are going to be in March,” Cabello said on Wednesday. “I said it last week while joking, joking, but at the rate we are going.”

Cabello also dismissed the Biden administration’s threats of reinstating sanctions in April if the Maduro regime does not uphold the terms of the agreement, urging acting U.S. Ambassador to Colombia and Chief of Mission of the Venezuelan Affairs Unit (VAU) Francisco Palmieri to “go eat a hill of candy.”

“Go eat a hill of candy, Paco Palmieri and your combo,” Cabello said. “And as Jorge [Rodríguez, head of the National Assembly] said, if you want to apply the sanctions, do it already.”

Much like Cabello, Venezuelan Foreign Minister Yvan Gil dismissed the Biden administration’s threats of reinstating sanctions on Wednesday evening:

“Nobody blackmails Venezuela! Once again our people will give lessons of dignity to the decadent US imperialism,” Gil’s message read.

“The attempts of U.S. interference will once again sink in failure. We have defeated all types of aggressions and interference and we will continue to triumph under the sacred mantle of our Constitution,” he continued.

Christian K. Caruzo is a Venezuelan writer and documents life under socialism. You can follow him on Twitter here.