Senate Republicans and Democrats are taking opposing tacts in how they’re approaching Venezuela, two days after a disputed election where President Nicolás Maduro declared himself the victor: Democrats, following the White House, are proceeding cautiously; Republicans, condemning the White House, are demanding immediate action.
The administration should “stand up for democracy, stand up against the obvious and indisputable election fraud,” Sen. Ted Cruz told NOTUS, pointing to previous Venezuelan elections held under Maduro’s government that are widely considered to be fraudulent. “The president of the United States should clearly and unequivocally call out Maduro as an illegitimate leader, as a dictator that’s subverting democracy. The president should recognize the opposition leader as the duly elected leader of Venezuela.”
Sen. Marco Rubio blamed the Biden administration for the results, arguing the deals Biden officials reached with the Maduro regime — which resulted in the U.S. temporarily lifting economic sanctions and extraditing regime allies in exchange for free and fair elections — instead encouraged Maduro to commit electoral fraud.