WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, ahead of tomorrow’s planned pro-democracy demonstrations in Venezuela, Senator Rick Scott released the following statement warning Dictator Nicolás Maduro not to harm or arrest María Corina Machado and to commit to a peaceful transition of power to president-elect Edmundo González. Tomorrow will mark one month since González defeated Maduro at the polls, yet the Biden-Harris administration still refuses to recognize him as the president-elect and make clear that they stand in total unity with the people of Venezuela.

Senator Rick Scott said, “Dictator Nicolás Maduro is growing desperate as his power slips away and his threats against María Corina Machado must be taken seriously. Maduro must know this: I am doing everything in my power as a United States Senator to go after Maduro and his narco-regime with the full weight of the United States government. If he harms or arrests María Corina Machado or President-elect Edmundo González, there will be hell to pay. The Biden-Harris administration’s weak appeasement of the evil regimes in Cuba and Venezuela has allowed Maduro to keep his grip on power for too long. It is imperative to the national security of the United States, stability of the Western Hemisphere and fight for democracy in Venezuela that the Biden-Harris administration re-impose sanctions, recognize Edmundo González as the president-elect and rally the world to end Maduro’s tyrannical regime now.”

###