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Venezuela bars leading opposition candidate from election as Democrat model catches on

January 30, 2024 | | Print Article

The government of Venezuela has banned the leading opposition candidate from participating in the country’s elections.

Last week, Venezuelan Supreme Court judges loyal to the Latin American country’s despotic socialist leader Nicolas Maduro blocked the presidential candidacy of María Corina Machado who overwhelmingly won the opposition primary in October, a move that has drawn widespread condemnation.

Machado would have had a good chance to dislodge Maduro if there was a level playing field but has been banned from running for fifteen years which is less than the permanent ban that U.S. Democrats are seeking against Republican party frontrunner Donald J. Trump using a controversial Civil War-era 14th Amendment provision to claim that he incited an “insurrection” on January 6, 2021.


The ban comes as the Biden regime has relaxed sanctions on Venezuela’s oil and gas industry which could now be imposed again after the banana republic move by Maduro’s allies.

“The Venezuelan Supreme Court’s January 26 decision to disqualify democratic opposition primary winner Maria Corina Machado is inconsistent with the commitment by Nicolás Maduro’s representatives to hold a competitive Venezuelan presidential election in 2024. The reinstatement process lacked basic elements, as Machado neither received a copy of the allegations against her nor was afforded the opportunity to respond to those allegations,” said State Department spokesman Matthew Miller in a statement issued after the ruling.

“The decision by Venezuela’s Supreme Tribunal of Justice to uphold disqualifications of @MariaCorinaYA and @hcapriles undermines a competitive presidential election. Based on this action and targeting of opposition and civil society, the U.S. is reviewing our sanctions policy,” Miller wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.

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But X users threw the regime’s hypocrisy right back in the face of the spox, pointing out that those who live in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones.

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Trump is currently facing multiple trials and has been thrown off the ballot in two states with others to follow depending on how the U.S. Supreme Court rules next month, giving critics reason to argue the Biden administration is hardly in a position to lecture anybody about the democratic process.

Chris Donaldson
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