NEW YORK (Jan. 10, 2025) — The Human Rights Foundation (HRF) strongly condemns the sham inauguration of dictator Nicolás Maduro as Venezuela’s reelected president following his regime’s blatant electoral fraud on July 28, 2024, and calls on the U.S. government to rescind Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) licenses granted to companies doing business with the Venezuelan regime.
Attended only by two other dictators, Miguel Díaz-Canel of Cuba and Daniel Ortega of Nicaragua—both leaders facing international sanctions for undemocratic practices—Maduro’s inauguration seeks to extend his illegitimate rule for another six years, in an action that attempts to consolidate the existing dictatorial regime and that opposition leader María Corina Machado has characterized as a “coup d’etat.”
“Maria Corina Machado has inspired a tidal wave of unity for Venezuelan democracy. Her bravery despite the threats against her and the courage of the Venezuelans marching on the streets should be met with the unwavering and decisive support of the rest of the world,” HRF Chair Yulia Navalnaya said. “At this decisive moment, the international community must recognize the remarkable fight of the Venezuelan people, and help them seize this opportunity to uphold democracy and self-determination.”
“We are witnessing the consolidation of one of the most grotesque and blatant electoral frauds, and the international community should not stand idly by while the regime clings to power through violence, persecution and torture. Democratic nations must intensify their efforts and keep pressuring the dictatorship to respect the will of the Venezuelan people,” said HRF Chief Executive Officer Thor Halvorssen.
“The most powerful decision to advance the liberation of Venezuela would be for the incoming government administration in the United States to stop the absurdity of financing the dictatorial regime through OFAC licenses granted to several companies to do business with the Maduro criminal syndicate. At present Chevron Corporation, Repsol, Halliburton, Schlumberger Limited, Baker Hughes Holdings, Weatherford International, Maurel & Prom, and Florida billionaire Harry Sargeant’s Global Oil Terminals have permission to ignore the sanctions on Venezuela and earn hundreds of millions or even billions of dollars doing business with the regime. It should end. Now. The tyrant and his cronies must answer for their crimes, and they must leave, not be rewarded with an endless stream of cash facilitated by companies operating in democratic countries,” he added.
According to official voting records validated by international observers, Maduro lost the election by nearly 40 points to the legitimate president-elect, Edmundo González, who won with 67% of the votes.
Despite facing seemingly insurmountable obstacles — including violent intimidation, political persecution, arbitrary detentions, barring Venezuelans abroad from voting, and the unlawful disqualification of candidates — civil society rallied behind Machado and González to reestablish democratic rule.
The months that followed were marked by a relentless and brutal campaign of repression by the regime, forcing Machado into hiding and González into exile. Six members of Machado and González’s campaign remain in hiding under protection at the Argentinian embassy in Caracas. To force them out, the regime has surrounded the building with armed thugs as well as cut off its power and water supply.
Since July 28, regime forces and “colectivos” — regime-backed armed groups aligned with the dictatorship — have been responsible for the deaths of at least 30 opposition members and protesters, more than 1,800 arbitrary arrests, and have left the country with the highest number of political prisoners ever recorded: 1,794.
On Jan. 9, Machado emerged from hiding to join nationwide protests demanding that Maduro hand over power to the legitimate winner of the election. Regime forces violently intercepted her after she addressed a crowd in Caracas. She was released shortly afterward, but not before being coerced into recording video messages that were later broadcast by the regime’s propaganda network, Telesur.
The blatant violations of the rules aimed at guaranteeing the fairness and integrity of the electoral process began long before the election. Between Jan. 1 and July 28, 183 opposition members were arbitrarily detained in connection with campaign activities, including Machado’s head of security. Maduro also backtracked on his Barbados Agreement commitment to allow independent international observers to monitor the voting; only the Carter Center and regime allies were permitted to conduct observation activities. The Carter Center, however, said the elections “did not meet international standards of electoral integrity and cannot be considered democratic.”
The regime also severely restricted the voting rights of the more than 7 million Venezuelans living in exile and made their participation impossible. Out of the more than 6.5 million Venezuelans that would be eligible to vote, only 69,000 were registered. Two days before the election, the regime suddenly shut down its border with Colombia, where 3 million Venezuelan refugees reside, to stop them from returning to their country to cast their votes at home.
“The massive fraud perpetrated by the Maduro regime is a scandalous and yet unsurprising new attempt by the regime to cling to power and to prevent the peaceful democratic transition for which Venezuelans voted. Maduro and his henchmen are terrified because the cascade of crimes they’ve committed would lead to certain imprisonment after they are tried for their crimes,” said Halvorssen.
HRF strongly condemns the regime’s blatant attempt to cling to power. HRF urges democratic governments in the region and around the world to take immediate and decisive action to support Venezuela’s fight for democracy, freedom, and justice. This includes rejecting Maduro’s usurpation of power, recognizing Edmundo González as the country’s legitimate leader, and imposing sanctions on those responsible for enabling the regime’s consolidation of dictatorship and its crimes against humanity.
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