Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro imposes new sanctions as he begins third term: NPR

BOGOTA, Colombia – Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro was sworn into office for a third consecutive term on Friday as the United States, European Union and United Kingdom announced new sanctions against his increasingly authoritarian government.

The United States, the European Union and many neighboring countries have recognized opposition candidate Edmundo González as the next president and accused Mr. Maduro of fraud.

The swearing-in of Venezuela’s president follows a controversial election last July that sparked mass protests in which thousands of people were arrested.

Despite taking office for another six years, he found himself increasingly isolated on the international stage.

On Friday, the Biden administration not only imposed new financial sanctions on eight Maduro regime officials, but also increased the reward for information leading to Maduro’s arrest from $15 million to $25 million.

Maduro was indicted in 2020 on narcoterrorism charges by U.S. prosecutors for supporting a Colombian terrorist organization and facilitating the shipment of cocaine to the United States. Maduro denies the charges and says they are part of an effort to violently remove him from office.

Maduro struck a defiant tone at his inauguration, celebrating in a red-carpeted room surrounded by supporters and dignitaries from China, Russia and other countries friendly to his regime. The presidents of Cuba and Nicaragua were the only Latin American leaders to attend the inauguration.

“The Venezuelan people have defeated imperialism and its cunning diplomacy,” President Maduro said.

President Maduro has promised that his new term will be a “period of peace.” But that hasn’t been the case in recent months. On Thursday, thousands of Venezuelans took to the streets again to protest President Maduro’s election.

Many of the protests across the country were quickly suppressed by security forces who remain loyal to Maduro’s regime.

Still, some analysts see Thursday’s protests as a sign that Venezuela’s rebels still have a chance to steer the country toward democratic rule.

“Today’s story is not supposed to be about Mr. Maduro’s (forced) oath, which is what everyone expected,” said Tamara Talachuk Broner, a human rights lawyer and Venezuela expert at the Inter-American Dialogue. Ta.

“Rather, this is the story of how thousands of Venezuelans took to the streets despite fear of repression, and how this can be used as a catalyst for a democratic transition. .”

Thursday’s protests in the capital, Caracas, were led by Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Colina Machado, who was banned from participating in July’s elections.

Machado had been in hiding since August after receiving threats of arrest from the government.

In a short speech, Machado assured supporters that the Venezuelan government was “digging its own grave.”

After Machado left the rally, the opposition reported that he was briefly detained by Venezuelan police, who stopped his motorcade and pulled him from his motorcycle.

Machado said he was released after about an hour and forced to record a video in which he said he was not harmed.

“What happened to me shows that there are deep divisions within the government,” Machado said. “Mr. Maduro may have been wearing a presidential band today, but it’s more like a chain around his ankle.”

Venezuela’s powerful interior minister, Diosdado Cabello, has denied ordering Machado’s arrest and accused her of faking her own arrest to incite her supporters.

A UN report released Thursday said at least 16 political activists and human rights leaders were arrested in the days leading up to President Maduro’s swearing-in.

Those recently detained include the head of a free speech group and the son-in-law of Ejimdo González, a former diplomat who is currently in exile and was the opposition’s stand-in candidate in July elections.

González has promised to return to Venezuela, but has not said when or how he will return. The government threatened to arrest him and placed a $100,000 bounty on his head.

International Crisis Group Venezuela analyst Phil Ganson said the country’s transition to democracy relies heavily on the military, the traditional power broker in the country’s politics.

Military leaders have long supported Mr. Maduro and supported his claims that he won the July election with 51% of the vote.

But while President Maduro has not provided any evidence to support that claim, opposition figures from thousands of voting booths across Venezuela show his party’s candidate González won with two-thirds of the vote. Collecting papers.

Ganson said it was important for the rebels to build bridges with the military. and provide them with incentives to support the transitional government.

“Military personnel are at risk from human rights violations,” Ganson said. “And they are unlikely to abandon President Maduro unless it is clear that there is a way out of this situation that allows them to keep at least some of the wealth they have accumulated without being imprisoned.”

According to the United Nations, nearly 8 million people have left Venezuela in the past decade. Most head to neighboring countries such as Colombia, but thousands make the long overland journey to the United States each year, including crossing Mexico and the dangerous Darien jungles.

Many exiles have also taken part in protests against President Maduro’s new term.

Alfredo Gómez, a petroleum engineer who attended the rally in Bogota, Colombia, said change will not just happen to “people on the street.”

“We need the military, especially the middle and lower ranks, to work together with the Venezuelan people,” he said. “When the corrupt Maduro regime realizes that it is powerless to oppress the Venezuelan people, it will run like a rat to Cuba or Moscow or anywhere else.”