The Biden administration said on Monday that electoral fraud had eroded “any credibility” of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro’s claim to win re-election, and Washington left the door open to new sanctions on the OPEC nation.
Briefing reporters on Sunday’s election, senior US officials sharpened Washington’s response to the disputed vote, in which Venezuela’s electoral authority said Maduro wins a third termTook forward the 25 years of rule of Samajwadi Party.
Independent exit polls point to a landslide victory for the opposition.
The US and several other governments have cast doubt on the official vote count. Maduro’s opposition rival Edmundo Gonzalez has claimed he is the real winner.
Senior aides to President Joe Biden have publicly demanded that Maduro publish a detailed tally of the vote, US officials said on condition of anonymity, saying failing to do so would make the international community reluctant to accept the declared result.
Officials did not disclose any new punitive measures, but said Washington would evaluate its sanctions policy toward Venezuela based on further steps taken by Maduro.
“We are potentially facing a new scenario,” one official said. “We will take this into account when planning further strategies regarding sanctions against Venezuela.”
Washington, which dismissed Maduro’s 2018 re-election as a sham, broadly eased sanctions on Venezuela’s oil industry in response to a deal reached between Maduro and opposition parties last October. But in April the US reimposed sanctions, accusing Maduro of reneging on electoral commitments.
One US official said, “By engaging in repression and electoral manipulation, and by declaring a winner without detailed voting results… Maduro’s proxies have destroyed all credibility of the so-called election results they announced.”
Earlier, speaking in Tokyo, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said: “We have grave concerns that the announced result does not reflect the will or vote of the Venezuelan people.”
On Monday, Maduro reiterated his claim that Venezuela’s electoral system is transparent.
White House spokesman John Kirby said the U.S. would not make a decision until it received further information, but would then “respond accordingly.”
US coordinates international response
US officials did not provide any specifics about electoral malpractice they believe was committed by the Maduro side.
But an official said the election commission’s announcement “did not match the data from the quick count mechanism and other sources” and did not match how Venezuelans voted.
Officials said the United States is coordinating with regional allies to respond and will also work with international partners on potential consequences for the Maduro government.
A senior US official said the administration is in touch with Brazil and other Latin American governments concerned about the political situation in Venezuela.
The White House said Biden will speak with Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on Tuesday afternoon.
He defended the Biden administration’s decision to renegotiate with Maduro last year after the Trump-era “maximum pressure” campaign, despite the Venezuelan leader’s history of failing to fulfill his political promises.
One official said Sunday’s election was a broad call for change from Venezuelan voters and would give the opposition a better position to negotiate with Maduro.
But Republican US Senator Marco Rubio, a fierce critic of Maduro, criticized the Democratic administration in a post on X, saying it was “the latest example of how our enemies have repeatedly deceived Biden and (Vice President Kamala) Harris.”
Analysts believe a Maduro re-election or post-election chaos could cause more Venezuelans to flee the country and head for the US-Mexico border.
Immigration is already a hot issue in the US presidential election campaign, which could create new problems for Harris, who is being seen as a potential Democratic nominee after Biden ends his reelection bid on July 21.