Washington Post Opinion: Venezuela’s crisis must be resolved peacefully, without aiding Maduro

Washington, May 8, 2023
Like President Biden, I believe in maintaining sanctions against the Maduro regime and its enablers until we see the restoration of human rights, the release of political prisoners and wrongfully detained Americans, and a framework for free, fair elections. Mr. Maduro’s frequent public gripes regarding these sanctions demonstrate our continued leverage.
Opinion:  Venezuela’s crisis must be resolved peacefully, without aiding Maduro
May 8, 2023 at 2:45 p.m. EDT

The May 1 editorial “Can Venezuela be negotiated with?” succinctly captured the state of Venezuela’s ongoing political crisis: Authoritarian President Nicolás Maduro is emboldened by a fractured opposition, propped up by global autocrats and unmoved by the former U.S. president’s “maximum pressure” campaign.

As co-chair of the Congressional Venezuela Democracy Caucus and representing a district that includes the largest concentration of Venezuelans in the United States, I have sounded this alarm for years.

Like President Biden, I believe in maintaining sanctions against the Maduro regime and its enablers until we see the restoration of human rights, the release of political prisoners and wrongfully detained Americans, and a framework for free, fair elections. Mr. Maduro’s frequent public gripes regarding these sanctions demonstrate our continued leverage.

We must use all means to facilitate a resolution, including diplomacy. These conversations must include democratic partners in the region who host millions of Venezuelan migrants and have a clear stake in seeing through a peaceful transition of power.

It’s equally critical to mitigate the immediate suffering of the Venezuelan people by fast-tracking efforts to establish a U.N.-managed fund that can disburse aid without profiting Mr. Maduro and his accomplices. I plan to introduce legislation to accelerate the transfer of sanctioned Venezuelan assets to the United Nations to realize this objective.

Beyond alleviating the hardship facing those who remain in Venezuela, this humanitarian fund could lay the groundwork for progress by expediting the resumption of talks and restoring faith among Venezuelans that the international community and the democratic opposition can deliver on their promises.

Mr. Biden’s strategy in Venezuela centers on the principle that negotiations remain the best option for a peaceful resolution to the political crisis. As long as we refrain from unilateral concessions to the regime, sustaining these talks is a moral and geopolitical imperative.

Debbie Wasserman Schultz, Washington

The writer, a Democrat, represents Florida in the House.