The head of the US diplomatic mission to Venezuela, Francisco Palmieri, has announced that his country is preparing new sanctions against more than 15 public officials of the government of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, as a result of the alleged fraud in the presidential elections of July 28.
“What I can say is, for the serious violations of Human Rights in Venezuela, for each of the responsible officials, we are going to sanction more, much more than the 15 people that were mentioned in a press article,” Palmieri said in an interview published by the website Efecto Cocuyo.
Palmieri did not want to reveal any names, but he stressed that the measure is due to what Washington believes is a response to the lack of will of Maduro and his government to resolve the political crisis.
“Maduro has not been able to accept the result of July 28. They live in a reality that does not fit with the world and that is why they are increasingly isolated from Venezuela and from the international community itself,” he argued.
However, he believes that in order to resolve this conflict, Chavismo must give in and promote dialogue. “The only way to solve the conflict is through dialogue. We know that Edmundo González Urrutia was the one who obtained the greatest number of votes. We assume our responsibility to promote democratic solutions, but that requires that the other party recognizes González Urrutia’s victory. The United States is always willing to play a constructive role to help,” he said.
However, Palmieri believes that “the root of the problem in Venezuela is the lack of democracy and respect for the Constitution.”
Regarding the request of the opposition leader, María Corina Machado, for greater involvement and commitment from the United States, Palmieri stressed that Machado “is fighting for democracy in Venezuela and has all our support.” “We have a list of those responsible and we will continue to put pressure on individuals who violate human rights,” he added.
