Sens. Ted Cruz (R-TX) and Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) have introduced a Senate resolution calling for fair elections in Venezuela. The resolution is co-sponsored by Sens. Tim Kaine (D-VA) Rick Scott (R-FL), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Adam Schiff (D-CA), and Jacky Rosen (D-NV).
The resolution recalls that Secretary of State Marco Rubio “testified before the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate that the objective of the Trump Administration’s policy is to achieve a friendly, stable, prosperous, and democratic Venezuela in which ‘all elements of society are represented in free and fair elections.'” It notes that the State Department reiterated its support for an electoral transition in July.
“Delcy Rodriguez does not have an electoral mandate from the people of Venezuela, has not taken meaningful steps toward convening free and fair presidential elections, and is broadly assessed as unable to win any such free and fair election,” it adds, going on to urge “interim authorities of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela [to] take immediate steps to restore democratic governance through free, fair, and transparent presidential elections.”
Cruz said in a statement accompanying the resolution, in part, “A legitimately elected government would create the foundation for freedom and prosperity in Venezuela and establish the basis for a deep and long-term partnership with the United States, including security, counternarcotics, and economic cooperation.”
Shaheen similarly said that a “credible democratic transition is only attainable when the Venezuelan people are free to decide Venezuela’s future, yet the Delcy Rodríguez regime has failed to take meaningful actions toward holding elections and restoring democratic order.”
Following the arrest of Nicolás Maduro, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the Trump administration was moving to reopen Venezuela’s oil industry. The State Department declared in a February media note that the Trump administration is “rapidly implementing President Trump’s vision to reopen and develop Venezuela’s oil industry for the shared benefit of the American and Venezuelan people.” The United States has already issued several licenses for oil and gas companies to invest in Venezuela, the statement explained.
