Dec. 30 (UPI) — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke Monday with leaders of Venezuela’s democratic opposition to reaffirm U.S. support for the Venezuelan people, and their votes “expressed at the ballot box,” amid ongoing calls to release unjustly detained political prisoners.
Blinken spoke with opposition candidate Edmundo González Urrutia, who President Joe Biden has recognized as “president-elect,” and Maria Corina Machado to express U.S. condemnation of Nicholas Maduro’s “anti-democratic actions” ahead of his inauguration next week.
Maduro is scheduled to be sworn-in on Jan. 10, for the 2025 to 2031 presidential term after claiming victory in the July 28 election, despite what Washington, D.C., called “overwhelming evidence” that González received the most votes. Venezuela’s high court, the Supreme Tribunal of Justice, certified Maduro as the winner in August.
Since July’s election, thousands of protesters have demonstrated over voter fraud and other election irregularities to demand a fair count. In response, Human Rights Watch said it has documented Venezuelan authorities and pro-government armed groups committing abuses, killings, detention and prosecution of protesters.
Blinken “commended the democratic opposition’s resilience and the Venezuelan people’s commitment to democracy in the face of repression and adversity,” according to Monday’s statement by State Department spokesperson Mark Miller.
On Sept. 2, a judge issued an arrest warrant against González for “conspiracy” and “incitement to disobedience.” González fled the country and is now living in exile in Spain. He has vowed to return to Venezuela next month to inaugurate his own government.
Since March, six people identified as members and supporters of Machado have been sheltering in the Argentine embassy in Caracas over fears of arrest. On Nov. 24, security forces surrounded the embassy, where Machado’s international coordinator Pedro Urruchurtu said they have been subjected to blackouts and denied access to drinking water.
On Saturday, Venezuelan activist Magalli Meda said the opposition members have been without electricity for 35 days in the “prison embassy,” which she declared a human rights violation.
“I recommend that the international diplomatic world keep an eye on diplomacy in Venezuela and the rule of law regarding what is happening here,” Meda added.
“The pressure from the government has been escalating in the last few weeks. Psychological torture, we are under constant surveillance and nobody can visit us without authorization … the spiritual damage we are subject to is tremendous,” one of the political asylum seekers Omar Gonzalez told a virtual press conference earlier this month.
“It’s important to point out that there are six civilians, political activists that the only crime they committed is fighting for a free Venezuela,” Omar Gonzalez continued, “and we are threatened and in isolation and every day it gets worse.”
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