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SEMAFOR
The US is planning a last-ditch effort to offer amnesty to Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro in exchange for stepping down, as mounting evidence shows he lost last month’s election, The Wall Street Journal reported.
The US has discussed pardons for Maduro and his top allies who are facing criminal indictments on narco-terrorism and drug trafficking charges, and sources told The Journal that the US may be open to dropping extradition efforts for those involved.
The Biden administration has put “everything on the table” to convince Maduro to cede power before January, one source said.
Maduro has previously expressed willingness to negotiate with the US, though he has appeared more resistant since the election, telling Washington not to “mess with Venezuela’s internal affairs” at a news conference on Friday.
The US offers could fall flat if former President Donald Trump is re-elected in November, The Journal reported, given his previous hardline approach to Venezuela. Still, Maduro is suspicious of any US administration, including Biden’s, which dropped most sanctions against cash-strapped Venezuela this year in the hopes of enticing him to hold free elections.
New voting data shows that diplomat Edmundo González won last month’s election, but the Maduro regime has since jailed thousands of dissidents, maintained the military’s support, and asked the pro-Maduro Supreme Court to solve the election dispute. Meanwhile, the UN General Assembly has offered to mediate the election results if Maduro invites third party observers