Venezuela's Maduro says won't bow to 'blackmail' after US call for new polls
Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro said his government would
not give in to "blackmail or threats" after the United States urged
him to make serious efforts toward holding elections if he wants sanctions
relief.
Washington's call comes ahead of a Friday meeting in Mexico
between representatives of both the leftist government and opposition leader
Juan Guaido -- considered interim president by the United States -- before
talks set for August 30 under mediation from Norway.
Venezuela is suffering through a crippling economic crisis,
exacerbated by a raft of fresh sanctions imposed by Washington following a
contested election in 2018.
In a state television broadcast, Maduro said his country
would go to the talks "autonomously and independently and does not submit
to blackmail or threats from the United States government."
Earlier, Maduro said he was seeking an "immediate
lifting of all the criminal sanctions" led by the United States, which in
2019 said it no longer considered him the legitimate president after wide
allegations of electoral irregularities.
State Department spokesman Ned Price said the sanctions were
aimed at "promoting accountability" on democracy and human rights.
"We've also been clear that the Maduro regime can
create a path to easing sanctions by allowing Venezuelans to participate in long
overdue free and fair presidential, parliamentary and local elections,"
Price told reporters.
Doing so "requires the Maduro regime to engage in
sincere discussions with the opposition -- led by, of course, Interim President
Juan Guaido -- that result in a comprehensive negotiated solution to the
Venezuelan crisis," he said.
Guaido is seeking guarantees over electoral conditions as
well as the release of political prisoners including Freddy Guevara, who was
recently detained.
- 'For our political prisoners' -
Guaido declared himself Venezuela's president in 2019
through his position as parliament speaker.
The opposition-dominated parliament had claimed Maduro's
2018 re-election was fraudulent, a view shared by the European Union and the
United States.
Former US president Donald Trump, vowing to crush leftists
across the Americas, imposed sweeping sanctions to pressure Maduro including on
Venezuela's key export of oil.
But Maduro has withstood the pressure with support from the
nation's military, Russia, China and Cuba despite a crumbling economy that has
caused millions to flee.
Biden has largely kept in place Trump's stance on Venezuela
while promising a more nuanced approach that relies on US allies.
Neither Maduro or Guaido will attend the latest talks, and
the government holds most of the cards.
In a video retweeted on his official Twitter account, Guaido
said: "Today there is unity in Venezuela supporting the possibility of a
solution through a comprehensive agreement."
In a later tweet, he wrote: "For our country, for our
political prisoners, for the struggle and the sacrifice of thousands, we are
going to rise up and move on until we achieve it."
The government and the opposition last held negotiations in
Barbados in 2019 that were also mediated by Norway and failed to make a
breakthrough.
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