Go to Article
Excerpt from news.google.com
Venezuela’s neighbors have troubling strategy
In the wake of Edmundo González’s landslide victory over Nicolás Maduro in Venezuela’s July 28 presidential elections and the Maduro regime’s subsequent crackdown, moves by the leaders of Brazil and Colombia to find a way forward diplomatically have been troubling from the start in their deference to Maduro.
Now, by proposing that Venezuela carry out a second election, Brazilian President Lula da Silva and Colombian President Gustavo Petro have thoroughly discredited their efforts and have shown why it is essential that the United States reassert its leadership on Venezuela.
In an election that was neither free nor fair, the Venezuelan people voted overwhelmingly for González. In addition, hundreds of thousands of people assisted in carefully planned election observation efforts that allowed the opposition to break through the regime’s secrecy and make public the voting tallies for a large majority of polling stations. Still, the Maduro regime declared victory while cracking down on opposition leaders, unleashing its collective militias on adversaries, and silencing political discussion.
Last Friday, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights condemned Venezuela over its state terrorism practices, including violent repression, arbitrary detentions and political prosecutions. The regime’s repression has resulted in at least 1,300 detainees and 24 deaths.
