Venezuela opposition leader Maria Corina Machado is sounding the alarm over Venezuela Dictator Nicolas Maduro’s persecution of her and her political party days before Venezuela’s general elections.
Machado claimed her vehicle and those of her staff were vandalized and their brakes slashed while government officials surrounded her neighborhood.
Venezuela is set to hold presidential elections on July 28.
The elections follow failed negotiations between Venezuela’s government and President Joe Biden’s administration over electoral assurances in exchange for sanctions relief.
Notwithstanding promises of free and fair elections, the Venezuelan regime barred opposition leader Machado from participating in the same.
Despite being barred, Machado directed her party Vente Venezuela to invest her political capital into former Venezuelan Ambassador Edmundo Gonzalez.
After Machado began supporting Gonzalez, who was allowed to register for the elections, the latter skyrocketed in the country’s polls.
Maduro, however, has not ceased persecuting Machado and her team, as the latter has been repeatedly threatened by Maduro’s regime.
According to a recent report by Venezuelan NGO Foro Penal, over 70 arrests of individuals tied to Vente Venezuela have been made since July 4.
US Representative Maria Elvira Salazar (R-FL) has been actively advocating for Machado and warned of Maduro’s intensifying attacks against her.
“Persecution against Maria Corina Machado and her team is increasingly fierce. Not only are they kidnapping her supporters, but now they’re vandalizing her vehicles,” said Representative Salazar.
Cada vez es más feroz la persecución contra @MariaCorinaYA y su equipo. No solo secuestran a colaboradores, sino vandalizan sus vehículos.
Quieren sacarla del juego y Maduro y sus secuaces serán los responsables. ¡La libertad está cerca y a eso le teme la Mafia de Miraflores! https://t.co/Db6T5I1PtJ
— María Elvira Salazar 🇺🇸 (@MaElviraSalazar) July 18, 2024
Maduro’s electoral manipulations and political persecution of opponents have prompted international condemnation and anticipated rejection of the upcoming elections.
In the US, Representative Salazar and her colleagues led a bipartisan resolution in late June characterizing the elections as a “sham” and Maduro’s government as “illegitimate”.
