We reported that Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro claimed to have won the July presidential election despite evidence showing he received fewer votes than the opposition candidate Edmundo González Urrutia. According to the Wall Street Journal, the Biden administration has offered amnesty to Maduro, his top henchmen, and the DOJ to end their investigations if they give up power by January.
People familiar with the situation said that the U.S. has launched a longshot effort to convince Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, who is facing mounting evidence of his defeat in the election last month, to surrender power and receive amnesty.
Three people familiar with Biden’s deliberations said that the U.S. had discussed pardons of Maduro and his top lieutenants who are facing Justice Department indictments. Three people familiar with the Biden administration’s deliberations said that the U.S. had discussed pardons for Maduro and top lieutenants of his who face Justice Department indictments.
Elon Musk, the owner of the social media platform X, and the dictator have started a verbal war. After accusing the site of undermining him, he blocked it.
Venezuela’s dictator Nicolas Maduro is determined to remain in power despite the “fraud” allegations that have been made about that Latin American country’s July election. Maduro has blocked social media sites in a post-election crackdown. He accuses X CEO Elon Musk of launching an “attack”.
Musk isn’t exactly shy.
I’m coming for you Maduro! 🚀💣
I will carry you to Gitmo on a donkey 🫏 https://t.co/RB5qltxsYI
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 1, 2024
The Journal reports that, according to writer J Michael Waller, the U.S. offers amnesty for “some of worst cartel figures” in the hemisphere.
A second person with knowledge of the talks stated that the U.S. was open to giving guarantees that they would not pursue these regime figures for extradition. In 2020, the U.S. offered a $15 million bounty to anyone who could provide information that led to Maduro being arrested on charges of conspiring to flood America with cocaine with his allies.
The talks are a small ray of hope for the Venezuelan opposition, which meticulously compiled voter counts showing that its candidate, a little-known former ambassador Edmundo Gonzalez, had defeated Maduro by a wide margin in the July 28, 2018 election. In the last two weeks, Maduro jailed thousands, kept the military loyal, and charged the Supreme Court with solving the election impasse. This bought him some time.
Maduro’s socialist policies and those of his predecessor Hugo Chavez destroyed the once-prosperous South American nation. Even in the United States, many people think that socialism and communism haven’t worked yet. But the truth is:
The only way to remove Maduro is through international action. In his 11 years as Venezuela’s authoritarian leader, he has presided over an economic collapse, diplomatic isolation, and the exodus and flight of eight million Venezuelans, more than the war-torn Syria or Ukraine. U.S. officials and Colombian officials claim that Maduro’s rule has provided a haven for transnational gangs and allowed Russia and China to establish a foothold within the Western Hemisphere.
Maduro is clinging to power with a tenuous grip, but he has survived many political challenges before. We’ll find out if Maduro can make it through another time, or if the United States offers him a Get Out of Jail Free Card.
