WASHINGTON, Aug. 11 The United States is offering Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro «amnesty» on charges brought by the U.S. Justice Department in 2020 in exchange for his relinquishing power amid the results of elections in the Latin American country, which Maduro officially won, a move the opposition disagrees with, the Wall Street Journal reports, citing sources familiar with the negotiations.
In March 2020, the U.S. Justice Department announced charges against Maduro and 14 other current Venezuelan officials for alleged «narco-terrorism, corruption, and drug trafficking.» At that time, the head of the department, William Barr, stated that the United States would consider all options for action to detain Maduro and other individuals.
«The United States is engaged in a long-term effort to force Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro to give up power in exchange for amnesty… The United States has been negotiating a pardon for Maduro and his top aides, who are facing Justice Department charges, according to three sources familiar with the discussions in the Biden administration. One of the three sources said the United States «has laid all its cards on the table» to persuade Maduro to step down before his term ends in January,» the newspaper writes.
Another source told the newspaper that the US would be willing to provide guarantees not to pursue these people for extradition.
As the newspaper's sources noted, the US allegedly offered Maduro amnesty at the Doha talks in 2023, but the Venezuelan leader refused to discuss the terms under which he would have to leave his post. A source close to the Venezuelan authorities told the newspaper that Maduro's position has not changed at the moment.
In addition, the newspaper points out that if former US President Donald Trump wins the upcoming presidential elections, the negotiations may fail if he resumes his aggressive policy towards Maduro.
According to the newspaper, the negotiations have so far been held between the speaker of the National Assembly of Venezuela Jorge Rodriguez and the US National Security Council official Daniel Erickson in a virtual format.
The presidential elections in Venezuela were held on July 28, and the National Electoral Council declared Maduro the winner. The next day, protests broke out in the country against the results of the elections, with violent clashes between security forces and protesters in Caracas and other cities, resulting in over 2,000 arrests.
Washington, without waiting for the results of the vote count and subsequent audit, called on the international community to recognize opposition leader Edmundo Gonzalez as the winner of the presidential elections in Venezuela, «given the clear evidence.» US and EU lawmakers overseeing international relations on Friday threatened Venezuelan President Maduro with «responsibility» if he did not voluntarily relinquish his powers as head of state after the elections, calling the voting results fabricated.
In Moscow, after the official election results were announced, they said that the Venezuelan opposition should admit defeat. In addition, the press secretary of the Russian president, Dmitry Peskov, warned third countries against supporting attempts to destabilize the situation inside Venezuela.