South Florida officials are reacting to the news that Venezuela's elections commission is suspending the recall vote against President Nicolas Maduro.
Sen. Marco Rubio:
"Venezuela is blessed with abundant natural resources and a talented population, which should make it the crown jewel of economic prosperity and opportunity in the Western Hemisphere. Instead, corruption, criminality, socialist policies, and human rights abuses at the highest levels of Venezuela’s government have tragically brought the country to the brink of becoming a failed state.
"The Venezuelan people have made it clear at the ballot box they are sick of Maduro's incompetence and corruption at all levels of government, and have worked through the constitutional process to remove him, only to see him and his puppets on the supreme court and elections commission illegally squash the people's will. The Obama Administration should officially sanction Nicolas Maduro and every member of the commission that supported this illegal, unconstitutional and undemocratic decision. It's shameful the Obama Administration has only sanctioned seven Venezuelan regime officials to date, and none in the past 19 months."
Congressman Mario Diaz-Balart:
"The Maduro regime’s decision to halt the referendum campaign and further persecute the opposition is a direct assault on democracy and the fundamental rights of the Venezuelan people. Rule of law, judicial institutions, independent media and civil society have been assailed, while opposition leaders are repressed and imprisoned. The laws passed by the National Assembly are systematically ignored.
"Following numerous failures of diplomacy and dialogue, these and other egregious violations constitute an impairment of democratic and constitutional order which demands immediate consequences under the Inter-American Democratic Charter. The OAS Secretary General already invoked Article 20 of the Charter in May and issued a scathing report condemning the Maduro regime’s mounting failures. His report recommended that a referendum take place this year. However, little action was taken by the OAS members and the situation in Venezuela has further declined.
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"At the OAS, the United States should demand measures to hold the Maduro regime accountable, and restore democracy and constitutional order in Venezuela. In the U.S., the Obama administration must vigorously enforce sanctions provided by Congress in the Venezuela Defense of Human Rights and Civil Society Act, which Congress extended earlier this year. As the act provides, anyone who participates in human rights abuses must face tough consequences.
"The Maduro regime has propelled a once prosperous nation into a downward spiral that is having calamitous consequences for the Venezuelan people. Sadly, the resource-rich nation of Venezuela is suffering from a rapidly contracting economy with skyrocketing inflation that has compounded the Venezuelan people’s suffering. By blocking the referendum and cracking down on the opposition, the Maduro regime shows that it is exceedingly weak and would not survive a challenge. We must not allow this blatant power grab and shameful assault on democracy to stand."
U.S. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen:
"Once again, Maduro has shown he will go to any length to manipulate the electoral institutions and undermine the democratic process in Venezuela, and it must not be tolerated. I vehemently condemn the decision to suspend the recall referendum and the move to ban opposition leaders from leaving Venezuela. But it is clear that the lack of decisive action from Washington and from the international community in response to Maduro’s tactics have left him more emboldened and brazen.
"I stand in solidarity with the people of Venezuela who have a right to express themselves freely without fear of retaliation and must be allowed to conduct the referendum in a transparent and open manner – a right afforded to them by their own constitution. The Organization of American States must invoke the Inter-American Democratic Charter and call an emergency permanent council meeting to examine the unconstitutional interruption of the democratic order of Venezuela."
