CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — U.S. diplomats on Friday injected confusion into next year’s presidential election in Venezuela by applauding the purported inclination of opposition leader Maria Corina Machado and other government foes to appeal their bans on running for office.
A tweet from the U.S. government’s unit that oversees Venezuelan affairs praised Machado’s “courage and willingness” to appeal the ban. But as she left the country’s highest court Friday evening, she told reporters she will not file an appeal because she has not been officially notified of the ban announced against her in June.
“I am not going to resort to that procedure,” she said of the appeal process. She said she had established before the court a claim “that there is no disqualification” against her.
With her campaign’s attorney by her side, Machado said that her legitimacy as a candidate comes from Venezuelan voters, not the government.
Two of her campaign advisers and a spokeswoman as well as a spokeswoman for the U.S. Venezuela Affairs Unit did not respond to requests for comment.
Machado won the Oct. 22 presidential primary held by a faction of the opposition backed by the U.S. government, getting about 94% of the votes cast.
The election was organized by an independent commission with no support from the government, which allowed Machado to appear on the ballot even though President Nicolas Maduro’s administration banned her from running for office three days after she officially entered the race.
In the days leading up to the primary, Maduro and the U.S.-backed opposition agreed to hold a presidential election in the second half of 2024. Maduro will be seeking to add six more years to his 10-year presidency.
The October agreement brought some sanctions relief for Venezuela’s oil, gas, and mining sectors from the U.S. government. But the Biden administration has threatened to reverse some of the relief if Venezuela’s government fails to reinstate all candidates.
“We applaud Maria Corina Machado and other candidates for their courage and willingness to appeal their ineligibilities. Now it is up to the representatives of Nicholas Maduro to demonstrate their commitment to competitive and inclusive elections,” the U.S. government tweeted, misspelling Maduro’s first name.
It also called for the release of “Venezuelan political prisoners, including Roberto Abdul.” Abdul and Machado co-founded a pro-democracy group more than two decades ago.
The tweet reiterated that the U.S. government intends to evaluate economic sanctions on Venezuela “based on meaningful, tangible progress” in restoring democracy.
Maduro’s allies, who along with the president argue that the opposition’s primary was fraudulent, said the tweet was a defeat for Machado and called it interference by the U.S. government in Venezuela’s internal affairs.
The Venezuela Affairs Unit “persists in its colonialist whims that, if they were not so tragic and ridiculous, would be comical. Venezuela does not accept guidelines from anyone,” Jorge Rodriguez, Maduro’s chief negotiator and National Assembly leader, tweeted.