Venezuela: On 3 September US Secretary of State
Michael Pompeo issued a statement following
the 31 August announcement by the Venezuelan government led by
Nicolás Maduro of its decision to ‘pardon’ 110 political opposition figures that have been imprisoned or gone into exile. According to Pompeo’s statement, the decision
“does not solve, nor even address, Venezuela’s underlying political crisis”, and conditions for free and fair elections
“do not exist in Venezuela and the release of a number of political prisoners does not change that”. It continues:
“None of the political parties whose leadership was removed and their names, symbols, and assets stolen by the [Maduro] regime have been restored, including parties from the left that challenge the regime’s control”. The statement adds that many political opponents of the de facto Maduro government are still prohibited from running for office and remain without political rights while
“the illegally appointed national electoral commission (CNE) remains under tight regime control, a fact that will become critical because complex [electoral] registration processes are in its hands”.End of preview - This article contains approximately 731 words.
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