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OPINION | Biden is not a friend of Maduro | CNN

2020-10-27T05:02:46.743Z


President Trump falsely paints Joe Biden as a radical ally of Maduro and he is not. An opinion of Amanda Mattingly.


Biden and Trump's handling of foreign policy 0:32

Editor's Note:

Amanda Mattingly is a Truman National Security Project Fellow and a former Foreign Relations Officer at the US Department of State.

He worked at the US embassy in Caracas in 2002-2003.

The opinions expressed in this comment are yours.

You can read more opinion pieces at cnne.com/opinion.

(CNN) -

I met Nicolás Maduro and he is the last person you would want to lead a country.

He is an incompetent authoritarian.

It has sunk your country and the economy.

His type of Bolivarian socialism is a corrupt farce, a scam of the poor of Venezuela and a lamentable excuse for a political-economic model.

Venezuela suffers a humanitarian, political and economic disaster thanks to Maduro and his predecessor, Hugo Chávez.

As successive authoritarian leaders, they have stripped Venezuela of its economic viability and democratic institutions while consolidating power.

The false rhetoric about Biden and Maduro

Now, I can tell you that Joe Biden is not Maduro.

He is not a radical or corrupt socialist, and he is certainly not a friend of Maduro.

False rhetoric about Biden and communism has been circulating in South Florida this election year.

South Florida voters are particularly susceptible to claims that Biden wants to install Cuban or Venezuelan-style socialism in the United States.

By exploiting traumatic memories of life in Cuba under the Castros and in Venezuela under Chávez and Maduro, Trump is stoking his fears in search of votes.

"Joe Biden is a CASTRO-CHAVISTAS PUPPET," Trump tweeted on Saturday.

Given the importance of Florida in the US presidential election, and the particular importance of Latino voters in South Florida, these false narratives about Biden could be important in determining who will serve as the next president of the United States.

Biden is a moderate democrat

The truth is that Biden is a moderate Democrat and an American patriot who has a long record in the United States Senate, and as Vice President, of taking a tough stance on American adversaries - like Maduro - and advocating for a foreign policy in Smart and integrated Latin America.

Not only is it ridiculous to compare Biden to Maduro, it is also ridiculous to think that Biden would not take a tough stand against him.

In early 2019, Biden recognized Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaidó as the legitimate interim leader of Venezuela just weeks after Guaidó proclaimed himself the legitimate president and called for new, free and fair elections.

Guaidó has been accepted as the legitimate leader of Venezuela by more than 50 countries, including the United States.

He knows that Biden will be a strong ally against Maduro and in efforts to achieve a peaceful democratic transition in Venezuela.

As Biden said earlier this year and again in Miami on October 5, "Maduro is a dictator, plain and simple."

The United States should work to regain its leadership role

US policy toward Venezuela must focus first and foremost on democracy.

Before the Trump administration, democracy promotion had been a cornerstone of US foreign policy in Latin America and around the world.

The United States should work to regain its leadership role in promoting and defending democratic principles, institutions, and governance.

The United States should definitely not be suggesting the possibility of a US military intervention or tacit approval of a military coup in Venezuela.

American diplomats should get back into the business of promoting and defending democracy.

The United States should also defend human rights and take a tougher position against Maduro and his regime, which has been accused of abuses by Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and a recent UN report.

The Venezuelan government has denied such reports, making it even more important for the United States to back any effort to hold Maduro accountable.

New democratic opportunities

The United States' stance on Venezuela should be tough, but it should also open up new diplomatic opportunities with allies in Latin America and Europe.

Rather than closing the avenues for diplomacy, the United States should work to open new avenues for cooperation.

Unfortunately, this administration has squandered the trust and mutual respect necessary to build a strong multilateral coalition to confront the crisis in Venezuela.

US foreign policy works best when the United States works with partners and provides principled and value-based leadership in multilateral organizations.

At this time, the United States must lead the efforts of the Organization of American States (OAS) and the Lima Group to promote a peaceful and democratic transition in Venezuela.

By working through these institutions, the United States gains legitimacy and support for its agenda.

In the absence of strong US leadership, Latin Americans throughout the region are losing faith in democracy and in the United States as a partner for a better future.

Respond to the humanitarian disaster

A credible and effective US policy would also respond to the humanitarian disaster that has befallen the people of Venezuela.

More than 5 million Venezuelans have fled their country for fear of political persecution and in search of economic opportunities.

Meanwhile, countless thousands of people could be dying from Covid-19 due to the collapse of the healthcare system.

In 2019, Doctors for Health found that 70% of public hospitals in Venezuela reported intermittent access to water, as Human Rights Watch notes.

The United States should work with Colombia and Brazil to address this disaster and its impact on the region, specifically targeting assistance to refugees and neighboring countries bearing the brunt of the exodus.

The United States Government must also extend Temporary Protected Status (TPS) to Venezuelans in the United States, a group that includes approximately 200,000 eligible Venezuelans who have sought refuge from the crisis in their home country. , according to the Congressional Budget Office.

Biden has vowed to do this if elected.

Help the people

Instead of redoubling the cruel policies and draconian economic sanctions that squeeze the Venezuelan people - but benefit the Maduro regime by offering a cover for its economic failures - a new policy between the United States and Venezuela should seek to help the people.

America's failed policies on Cuba should be a lesson.

And Venezuela should not be the victim of a repetition of that anachronistic approach.

For decades, we have provided the Cuban regime with an excuse for its own failed economic policies, and now we are doing the same for Venezuela.

Endless sanctions against Cuba have not resulted in regime change.

That tactic won't work in Venezuela either.

Comprehensive economic sanctions primarily hurt the people of these countries and leave them increasingly prostrate before their authoritarian governments.

You can see that in the lines of hours to get food in Havana and in the lines of hours to get gasoline in Caracas.

Targeted sanctions

Sanctions targeting specific individuals in the Maduro government, the Army, and the security services would be more effective.

By the end of 2019, and almost a year after the United States imposed sweeping economic and oil sanctions on Venezuela, 96% of households in Venezuela were living in poverty.

And, of that number, 79% in extreme poverty.

However, Maduro remained in power.

US sanctions must target Venezuelan citizens who support and finance Maduro.

Those who commit human rights violations.

Those who attack democratic processes and institutions such as the National Electoral Council (CNE).

And to those who run drug trafficking and money laundering operations.

The blunt tool of blanket sanctions further degrades the poor economic conditions in which most Venezuelans now live.

We are deepening their suffering rather than providing a lever for a solution.

Under Biden, the United States will regain its leadership

The current policy between the United States and Venezuela also brings Venezuela closer to Russia, China and Iran.

In recent years, we have seen these countries lending to the Venezuelan government, taking control of the Venezuelan oil sector, and more recently, allegedly buying Venezuelan gold in exchange for gasoline.

The situation in Venezuela is heartbreaking.

The sooner free and fair elections can be held to elect a new leader, the better.

Under the Biden administration, the United States will regain its leadership in the region.

And he will work for that day when Venezuela sees that there is a democratic and peaceful transition.

Joe Biden Nicolas Maduro

Source: cnnespanol

All news articles on 2020-10-27

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