December 7th, 2023
WASHINGTON D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Laphonza Butler (D-Calif) joined Senators Ben Cardin (D-Md.), Chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, along with Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Bill Cassidy (R-La.), Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.), Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), John Cornyn (R-Texas), Peter Welch (D-Vt.), and Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) in issuing a joint, bipartisan statement condemning the Maduro regime for arresting democratic opposition leader Roberto Abdul and for issuing arrest warrants against other senior members of Venezuela’s democratic opposition.
“We are extremely concerned over recent arrest warrants issued by the Maduro regime against members of María Corina Machado’s political party and coalition. This brazen act is a clear violation of the spirit of the Barbados Agreement and another indication that the Maduro regime is not following through on its commitment to free and fair elections in 2024. Additionally, the blatant refusal to release political prisoners or American hostages, the continued arrest warrants against other key opposition leaders, and the petulant saber rattling against Guyana show that the Maduro regime, far from taking steps towards the meaningful return of democracy, is moving towards an even more brutal dictatorship. The U.S. and our democratic partners should respond accordingly using all diplomatic tools, including imposing select sanctions.”
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