Credit: Gary Raynaldo / ©Diplomatic Times / US Departmet of State building – Washington, DC USA
By Gary Raynaldo DIPLOMATIC TIMES
The Biden administration recognizes Venezuela opposition leader Juan Guaidó as the “legitimate” president of the Latin American nation and has ruled out any direct talks with Nicholas Maduro. “The United States continues to recognize the 2015 National Assembly as the last remaining democratic institution in Venezuela, and consistent with that, the person chosen by the National Assembly to be its president as the interim president of Venezuela, Juan Guaidó,” Ned Price, spokesman for the United States Department of State said Wednesday during a press briefing in Washington D.C. The State Department spokesman said the overriding goal of the Biden-Harris administration is to support a peaceful democratic transition in Venezuela through free and fair presidential and parliamentary elections, and to help the Venezuelan people rebuild their lives and country.
“President Biden, you have heard him say this even before he was elected President Biden. He understands the pain that the current crisis in Venezuela has inflicted on the people of Venezuela and their families. Again, Maduro is a dictator. His repression, corruption, and mismanagement have created one of the most dire humanitarian crises this hemisphere has seen. I certainly don’t expect this administration to be engaging directly with Maduro.”
-Ned Price, spokesman for the United States Department of State
Department Spokesperson Ned Price holds the Daily Press Briefing at the U.S. Department of State in Washington, D.C., on February 2, 2021. [State Department Photo by Ron Przysucha]
Price added that the Biden administration will work with a number of allies and partners to bring about progress towards democracy in Venezuela. “We will do that with our partners in the region, we will do that with our European partners and allies, we’ll do that with the OAS, we will do that through the Lima Group, through a number of fora, likeminded fora that share the same goals of bringing about democracy and human rights and an end to this corrupt dictatorship in Venezuela.”
In January 2019, Guaidó declared himself interim president of the Latin American nation in a move to oust President Maduro, unleashing a wave of protests and political chaos. The Trump administration immediately recognized Guaido as Venezuela president and called for Maduro to step down. Maduro has resisted and labeled Guaido’s actions as a coup d’etat backed by the U.S. Maduro remains in power today.
