The Obama administration needs to take a more aggressive stance to help resolve the political stalemate and humanitarian crisis in Venezuela, a key lawmaker told administration officials Wednesday.
Rep. Jeff Duncan, the South Carolina Republican who chairs the House Foreign Affairs subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere, said the U.S. government has sent “conflicting messages” as opposition parties press ahead with a drive to recall leftist President Nicolas Maduro amid a deepening economic crisis in the South American country.
“The Obama administration should have greater courage of conviction to send a clear U.S. message: release all political prisoners, accept humanitarian aid, hold a recall referendum this year, and submit to the Venezuelan people’s wishes to resolve this crisis,” Mr. Duncan told a trio of administration officials at a hearing.
The hearing was conducted as State Department Undersecretary Thomas Shannon was meeting with Mr. Maduro in Caracas, part of a trip that includes meetings with civic groups and opposition figures. Mr. Duncan said the trip amounted to “rewarding President Maduro” with talks at a time when the Organization of American States is weighing whether to rebuke the Maduro government for its record on human rights and civil liberties.
Reuters news service reported Wednesday that Mr. Shannon and Mr. Maduro met after lunch in the Miraflores presidential palace in Caracas. A defiant Mr. Maduro then took to the stage in front of thousands of supporters in the capital city.
“It’s never too late,” he told them, clad in a shirt and blazer rather than his usual tracksuit or baggy shirt. “I hope President Obama will rectify the position he has held the last eight years against the revolution.”
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Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary for Western Hemisphere Affairs Annie Pforzheimer told the House hearing that Mr. Shannon was meeting with a “broad range of Venezuelans,” including both opposition and government officials, and would raise “very strong concerns” with the government officials.
Ms. Pforzheimer said the State Department supports continued negotiations with all sides in the Venezuelan impasse, saying the debate over whether to hold the recall referendum will last “as long as the Venezuelan people want it to.”
She said that she has no way of assessing whether Mr. Maduro will stay in power for the rest of the year, but the State Department would be “ready to consider support” if the conflict deteriorates.
“We could see the formation of something like a ’group of friends’ from the OAS member states who would … try to work with the parties in Venezuela and urge them to pursue sustainable solutions there,” Ms. Pforzheimer said.
OAS delegates are set to meet Thursday to decide whether to suspend Venezuela, from the regional bloc. Ms. Pforzheimer said the U.S. will continue to support dialogue and work with the regional community, but did not specify whether Michael J. Fitzpatrick, the U.S. representative to the OAS, will vote to sanction Caracas.
Anti-Maduro Venezuelan activists who attended the hearing said they were dissatisfied with the Obama administration’s approach, saying they agreed with Mr. Duncan that the U.S. should take more action to help the struggling country.
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“[Mr. Duncan] was asking the right questions,” Carlos Marquez, head of the Venezuelan American Leadership Council said. “They just weren’t giving the right answers.”
• Jessie Fox can be reached at jfox@washingtontimes.com.
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