Venezuela: Chairman of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs leads a bipartisan request demanding Biden to apply maximum pressure against Maduro

This Friday, a couple of days before the expected presidential elections in Venezuela, two Republican congressmen and two Democratic representatives signed an explicit request for President Joe Biden to apply maximum pressure against dictator Nicolas Maduro, who is increasing his repressive control in the face of a potential defeat at the polls this Sunday.

"As Venezuelans prepare to exercise their right to vote this Sunday, we condemn the Maduro dictatorship’s continued abuse and repression of María Corina Machado, Edmundo González, their staff, human rights advocates, and the Venezuelan free press," House Committee on Foreign Affairs Chairman Michael McCaul (R-TX) wrote. He signed the statement along with María Elvira Salazar (R-FL), the chairwoman of the Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere and Democratic Representatives Debbie Wasserman and Jared Moskowitz, both from Florida.

"Venezuelans deserve to have their right to self-determination respected. We commend Venezuela’s democratic opposition for their resilience and commitment to nonviolence, despite Maduro’s vicious threats and actions that have rendered this election neither free nor fair."

“We urge the Biden administration and regional democracies to use all diplomatic and economic tools at their disposal to apply maximum pressure on Maduro to ensure that the election results are honored and to see through a peaceful transfer of power. Bipartisan Members of Congress will monitor this Sunday’s election closely. We reaffirm our commitment to robust action at all levels of government in support of the Venezuelan people, including the enactment of legislation to impose new sanctions if the will of Venezuelan voters is undermined by the regime."

The congressmen's request comes at a decisive moment of maximum tension in Venezuela. In the last hours, Maduro's regime denied entry and deported former presidents, congressmen and several international politicians who went to Venezuela to oversee the electoral process.

For example, a delegation from Spain was sent, which included the third vice-president of the European Parliament, Esteban González Pons, the spokesman of the Popular Group in the Congress, Miguel Tellado, and deputies Cayetana Álvarez de Toledo, Macarena Montesinos and Belén Hoyo. Also part of the group were MEP Juan Salafranca and senators Juanjo Matari and Alfonso Serrano. All were arbitrarily deported upon arrival in Caracas.

Politicians from Colombia, Chile, Argentina, Bolivia and from other parts of Latin America were also deported.

The actions of Maduro's regime raise concerns about an electoral process marked by political persecution against the opposition, led by María Corina Machado, who is unlawfully disqualified by the electoral authorities controlled by the socialist dictatorship.

However, despite electoral outrages, illegal detentions and threats, the Venezuelan opposition managed to nominate a candidate, diplomat Edmundo González, who leads by a wide margin in most polls thanks to Machado's support.