US Sees Venezuela Election Plan Falling Short: Argus

The US wants Venezuela to allow opposition candidates to run in the upcoming elections, a senior US official said March 7, without explicitly referring to banned opposition candidate Maria Corina Machado, reported by Argus.

• Venezuela’s electoral authority announced March 5 that it would hold presidential elections July 28, although the chosen opposition candidate Corina Machado remains banned.
• Machado has refused to step aside in favour of another candidate.
• There has also been no mechanism announced yet to allow the 4m citizens living abroad to vote.
• A bipartisan group of US senators said that the US should refuse to recognise the election without Corina Machado’s inclusion.
• Any return of sanctions after April 18 is expected to maintain the exemption granted to Chevron, allowing it to lift oil for US importers, Argus said.