Risch: Admin. Should Not Lend Credibility to Fraudulent Elections in Venezuela

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Jim Risch (R-Idaho), ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, today released the following statement on the United States Agency for International Development’s decision to support a Carter Center election observation mission to Venezuela for the November 21 elections:

“I am deeply concerned the Biden Administration is underwriting an election observation mission to the fraudulent November 21 elections in Venezuela. This decision calls into serious question the judgement of senior administration officials tasked with conducting U.S. foreign policy in Venezuela.

“The Maduro regime has methodically destroyed any semblance of democracy and independent institutions in Venezuela. The election to be held on November 21 is a sham designed to divide the democratic opposition, disfranchise the Venezuelan people, and delay the return of democratic governance to Venezuela. The Biden Administration should refrain from taking actions that risk lending legitimacy to a regime that will only prolong the security and humanitarian crisis it created.”

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