Latest news with #anti-Maduro
Miami Herald
11 hours ago
- Politics
- Miami Herald
Miami congressman urges Noem not to deport Venezuelan torture victim
A federal lawmaker from Miami is urging the Trump administration to stop the deportation of a former Venezuelan political prisoner who was recently detained by U.S. immigration authorities. U.S. Representative Mario Diaz-Balart (R-FL) penned a letter for Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem raising 'serious concerns' about the detention of Gregory Antonio Sanabria Tarazona, who was jailed for more than three years by Venezuelan authorities and reportedly tortured for his participation in nationwide anti-Maduro protests in 2014. 'I'm increasingly concerned with the growing cases of people in the United States who have fled oppressive regimes and are being detained and held for possible deportation,' said Diaz-Balart, on X. 'Cases like Sanabria's, and so many others with legitimate claims of persecution, require a thorough review.' The letter from Diaz-Balart is the latest example of Miami Republicans pushing back against Trump's immigration agenda, the goal of which is mass deportation of undocumented immigrants. Caught in the crosshairs are immigrants from Venezuela, Cuba, and Haiti — among South Florida's largest immigrant communities — many of whom have asylum petitions that claim they would face persecution should they be deported back home. A senior DHS official told the Miami Herald that Sanabria Tarazona would remain in ICE custody pending a decision by an immigration judge. 'All of his claims will be heard by the judge,' said the DHS official. Last week, Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrested him in Texas and placed him in detention. Renzo Prieto, a former National Assembly member and fellow former political prisoner in Venezuela, first publicly denounced Sanabria Tarazona's detention on June 12 and urged U.S. authorities to reconsider. In a post on X he wrote: 'Gregory is one of the young people who fought for democracy in Venezuela. He was imprisoned, tortured, and persecuted by the criminal gang that holds power in our country hostage.' Diaz-Balart described Sanabria Tarazona as a courageous political prisoner who had endured years of abuse, including a stint in Maduro's notorious torture facility, El Helicoide. He urged DHS to conduct a fair and judicious review of Sanabria Tarazona's case. 'I am profoundly concerned by the numerous and credible reports that he endured torture, and the abuse he could face if forcibly returned to the repressive, vindictive Maduro regime,' he wrote to Noem. Kelvi Zambrano, a lawyer who represented Sanabria Tarazona's in Venezuela and internationally, told the Miami Herald that if Sanabria is deported, he 'may face irreparable harm,' not only because of his political activism, but also due to the current political conditions in Venezuela. 'Torture and arbitrary detentions have intensified as the government strengthens its repressive policies and adopts new mechanisms of persecution.' 'The detention re-victimizes him' Sanabria Tarazona was a 20-year-old computer engineering student when Venezuelan authorities arrested him on Oct. 7, 2014, in Táchira, a western state near the Colombian border. Sanabria Tarazona had taken part in a nationwide civil disobedience aimed at ousting Maduro called La Salida or The Exit. During his imprisonment, security agents beat and bit him, interrogated him with a bag over his head and shocked him with electricity, according to media reports. After his release in 2018, doctors diagnosed him with moderate cerebral edema and a broken nose that required surgery. That same year, the United Nations Human Rights Office condemned the 'severe beating' he endured and called for a full investigation into the use of torture and mistreatment of detainees at El Helicoide. Sanabria Tarazona crossed the U.S.-Mexico border in June 2022, according to Homeland Security. He settled in Dallas, where he worked in construction and air conditioning installation. He was also granted Temporary Protected Status (TPS), a designation first granted to Venezuelans in 2021 under the Biden administration. He received protection in 2023 after the program was expanded, said Zambrano. However, the Trump administration recently rescinded that protection, placing him, and more than 350,000 Venezuelans, at risk of deportation. Zambrano has requested protective measures for Sanabria Tarazona from the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights and the U.N. Committee Against Torture in an effort to prevent his deportation to Venezuela. Zambrano said Sanabria Tarazona is in distress, warning that his detention in the U.S. re-victimizes him. 'After being arbitrarily detained and tortured in Venezuela for more than three years, being detained again has a severe psychological and emotional impact,' Zambrano said. 'He is a person who has already endured arbitrary detention and abuse. This experience reopens that trauma.' GOP lawmakers sound alarm on Trump immigration policies Other Hispanic lawmakers from Miami, at both the state and federal level, have recently raised alarm about how Trump's immigration policies are affecting immigrants, particularly in South Florida. Strong support from Cubans and Venezuelans, among other Latino electorates, helped Trump flip Miami-Dade red. But now, Trump's immigration policies are largely targeting these nationalities, which have been large sources of migration to the United States in recent years. That includes the end of the Biden parole processes for Cubans, Venezuelans, Haitians, and Nicaraguans, as well as the termination of deportation protections and work permits under Temporary Protected Status for Venezuela. The Trump administration also restricted travel from Cuba, Venezuela and Haiti this month. READ MORE: 'Leave Immediately': Trump administration orders self-deportation for Biden-era parolees Shortly before Diaz-Balart sent his letter, Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar signed a letter asking ICE's acting director to prioritize convicted criminals and violent offenders. Rep. Tony Gonzales of Texas spearheaded the letter, which several Hispanic Republicans in Congress also signed. 'Every minute that we spend pursuing an individual with a clean record is a minute less that we dedicate to apprehending terrorists or cartel operatives,' said the letter. In a separate recent statement, Salazar said the uncertainty that Trump's immigration policies have created in her congressional district broke her heart and called ICE's immigration court arrests, including in Miami, a threat to due process. READ MORE: 'Inhumane:' Latinas for Trump founder condemns White House immigration crackdown State Sen. Ileana Garcia, a staunch Trump supporter who represents Salazar's district in Tallahassee, criticized Trump's immigration policies as 'unacceptable and inhumane.' Like Salazar, she cited courthouse arrests of people in immigration proceedings. 'This is not what we voted for,' she wrote in her statement.
Miami Herald
25-05-2025
- Politics
- Miami Herald
In the shadow of a tainted election, Maduro asks Venezuelans to vote again
A year after he falsified the results of a presidential election, according to independent observers, Venezuela's leader, Nicolás Maduro, is calling on voters Sunday to once again head to the ballot box. In the last vote, Maduro claimed victory despite a count that showed he had lost by a decisive margin. He then released a reign of terror on protesters, hundreds of whom are still locked up. This time, the election is for members of the Legislature, known as the National Assembly, and for governors in the country's 23 states. No independent monitors will be present, and inside Venezuela, many have said they believe that the results will once again be manufactured. Maduro is holding the election, analysts say, to project a veneer, however thin, of democracy. 'It serves only to give new life to the status quo,' said Benigno Alarcón, the director of the Center for Political and Government Studies at the Andrés Bello Catholic University in Caracas, Venezuela. And yet there are opposition candidates participating. The vote has reopened a rift among opposition activists, who had mostly united last year around the candidacy of Edmundo González, a former ambassador who won more than 60% of the presidential vote, according to a ballot count reviewed by the Carter Center, an independent monitoring group. González's most important supporter was María Corina Machado, a charismatic figure who had become the movement's undisputed leader but whom the government had barred from running. Now opposition figures and voters are divided over participation. On one side, Machado is calling on Venezuelans to abstain as a means of protest, claiming the vote is a 'trap' designed to legitimize the government of an autocrat. On the other, a cluster of other activists are not only running for office but calling on Venezuelans to head to the ballot box -- also as a means of protest. Maduro might not allow Venezuelans to choose who governs them, they argue. But the vote can be used as a political weapon all the same, signaling to leaders that people want them out. The goal is that people see that opposition leaders are active -- that they are campaigning, that an alternative is possible, that they are laying the groundwork for future democratic action. 'We can't just cede the path and let them say they won without resistance,' said Juan Requesens, 36, who emerged as a leader of anti-Maduro protests in 2014, then spent two years in prison and more time under house arrest before being released in 2023. Before the election, the government lifted bans on political participation for a few opposition activists, including Henrique Capriles, a former governor and two-time presidential candidate. It is a tactic the Maduro government has used before -- permitting some activists to run, while banning others -- as a means to divide the opposition. On Friday, government agents detained Juan Pablo Guanipa, a prominent politician and ally of Machado's. Tarek William Saab, the country's chief prosecutor, argued that Guanipa was part of a criminal group that sought to unleash violence to prevent Sunday's vote, and said he had been detained along with 70 other people, including foreigners. The government often makes such claims about opponents. There are already roughly 900 political prisoners detained in the country, according to a watchdog group, Foro Penal. The debate over taking part in Sunday's vote echoes a similar fight that played out in 2018 among opposition figures, most of whom ultimately abstained from that year's presidential vote, allowing Maduro to easily declare victory. Machado has been sharing images online of banners hung by communities across the country, each declaring that they 'already voted' -- on July 28, the date of the presidential election that González won. She declined to speak for this article. 'Empty the streets' on Sunday, she said in a recent message to supporters. 'Let it be clear who has the power: you.' Requesens, a former legislator, is now running for governor of Miranda, next to the capital of Caracas, and the country's second-most populous state. Few expect that he will be permitted to win. He has been ousted from his party, Justice First, for participating in the vote. He set out with a small team on a recent day, campaigning on foot in the worn-down streets of Miranda. He greeted merchants and chatted with passersby, distributing flyers with his image. Some recognized him immediately from the news; others, confused, said they were not aware of any upcoming vote. Several people asked not to be photographed near the candidate, saying they feared the government would use the images to punish them. 'People ask me, 'Are you scared?'' Requesens told a group of activists. 'I tell them, 'Dude, I'm scared to death. I don't want them to get me again. But I'm still leaving my house to give it all I have, because that's what I have to do. That's the only option left for me.'' There are also ongoing divisions in the opposition over the Trump administration's approach to Venezuela. President Donald Trump, reverting in many ways to a strategy he used in his first term, has tried to squeeze Maduro economically, revoking a license for the U.S. oil company Chevron to work in Venezuela, among other policies. He has also taken a hard-line on Venezuelan migrants, accusing many without evidence of being part of a gang, Tren de Aragua, and deporting hundreds to a prison in El Salvador. Machado has supported the Trump administration's economic approach. And she has repeated the Trump administration's claim that Tren de Aragua is controlled by Maduro, an assertion that U.S. intelligence agencies have rejected, according to internal documents. Among the opposition candidates participating in Sunday's vote is Capriles, 52, the former presidential candidate, who is reemerging on the political scene after years on the sidelines. He is running for a seat in the Legislature. 'What Maduro doesn't want is for us to express ourselves,' he said in an interview. 'I believe the way to keep July 28, 2024, alive is by participating.' Capriles called Trump's support of ongoing sanctions in Venezuela a 'big mistake' that would impoverish more Venezuelans and lead to more migration. González, who vote counts show won last year's vote, is living in exile in Spain. Machado remains popular but, aside from brief public appearances, has been living in hiding, under threat of arrest, since the July election. A study conducted by the Center for Political and Government Studies found that half of respondents still consider her the leader of the opposition, said Alarcón, the center's director. The same study showed that abstention might be the winner of Sunday's election: Just 20% of respondents showed significant interest in participating. Alarcón said that this would be among the lowest participation rate in an election in recent decades. As Capriles campaigned this month in Miranda state, a retired teacher named Morela Aponte, 65, watched from the sidewalk. 'Many people would like to shout 'traitor' at him,' she said, expressing her disappointment at his decision to run and her support for Machado, 'but they restrain themselves out of politeness.' She would not be casting a ballot, she added. 'The government wants to portray normalcy internationally, but that's a lie. Democracy in Venezuela was lost 25 years ago' -- when Maduro's movement took power, she added. Others disagreed with that decision. Alexander Azuaje was selling sweet pastries as Requesens campaigned recently. He took a flyer without hesitation. Azuaje, 27, explained that in 2018, he had been imprisoned for two months for participating in protests. After his release, he moved to Colombia to try to escape Venezuela's economic crisis. But he could barely make money and came back in 2023. He had voted for González, but he felt that Machado had disappeared following the vote, he said, and he was ready for new leadership. He didn't want more violence or political confrontation, he added, only stability. 'What I want is to earn at least $130 or $150 a week,' he said. 'To be able to support my children and my wife. But in the meantime, I'm voting. Because if we don't vote, we have nothing left.' This article originally appeared in The New York Times. Copyright 2025
Yahoo
13-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Trump and Maduro refresh a complex relationship governed by self-interest and tainted by Venezuela election fraud
In 2019, President Donald Trump recognized then-Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaidó as the country's interim leader over Nicolás Maduro, who has ruled the country since 2013. The policy, which led Venezuela to officially sever ties with the United States, was consistent with the first Trump administration's policy of maximum pressure and a desire for regime change when it came to the socialist government in Caracas. Fast forward six years: The early days of Trump's second administration has seen the U.S. president negotiate with Maduro over the release of detained Americans and an apparent willingness from Venezuela to receive hundreds of thousands of its nationals being deported from the U.S. As a diplomat who served in Venezuela and knew Maduro's predecessor and mentor, Hugo Chavez, I detect a subtle shift in the evolving Trump administration's policy toward Venezuela. It's true that the administration retains a strong dose of the anti-Maduro posture it held last time, particularly in light of Maduro's widely denounced election fraud in 2024 and an undercurrent of antipathy in Washington toward left-wing authoritarianism in Latin America. But U.S.-Venezuela relations under a second Trump term are subject to other factors and dynamics, including Trump's desire to be known for deal-making and the fulfillment of his campaign promise to deport immigrants back to Latin America. At the same time, Trump needs to balance satisfying anti-Maduro voices in his coalition with not pushing Venezuela further toward China, a country all too willing to exert greater influence in parts of Latin America. So far, the second Trump's administration seems to be sticking to the line of not officially recognizing Maduro and preferring his departure from the scene. It has kept sanctions on the country intact and continues to recognize Maduro's opponent, Edmundo González, as the legitimate president-elect. But that hasn't stopped the administration from pursuing negotiations. In late January, Trump's envoy Richard Grenell visited Caracas to secure the release of six Americans accused by Venezuela of plotting to destabilize the country. Trump subsequently announced that Maduro would accept repatriation of deportations of Venezuelans in the U.S. The U.S. administration also revoked the Temporary Protected Status, a categorization prioritized by President Joe Biden, for hundreds of thousands of people who fled Maduro's Venezuela. On Feb. 10, two Venezuelan planes returned home from the U.S with nearly 200 deported Venezuelan nationals, a signal that negotiations between the two nations were more than just optics. But news that the Trump administration has sent Venezuelan detainees to a U.S. military camp at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba – and is trying to send more – could yet prove a thorn in the side of any diplomatic thaw. Regardless, the shift in stance on Venezuela has raised eyebrows among some Republicans and Democrats alike. Their concern is that Grenell's visit – and overtures from the White House – gives Maduro's regime a veneer of legitimacy. But so long as Trump feels Venezuela under Maduro is useful to his aims of deportations, other U.S. issues with the government in Caracas are, I believe, likely to remain of secondary importance. The complicated dynamic of two men, ideologically opposed but aware of the other's usefulness, is reciprocated by Maduro. The Venezuelan leader congratulated Trump on his election victory in November, and he appears to treat his more powerful adversary with some pragmatism. But Maduro also remains willing to take a strident line rhetorically, even suggesting that Venezuela might 'liberate' Puerto Rico if the U.S. keeps meddling with Venezuela's affairs. Rhetoric aside, Maduro – as evidenced by his apparent willingness to deal with the new administration on hostages and immigration – is likely to pursue self-interest where possible. And he will be well aware that the survival of his rule may be tied with his country's economic situation. Venezuela has been hit hard by U.S. sanctions that have been in place since 2017. The level of poverty in the country is estimated to be around 80% of the population. This bleak economic picture is improving slowly but is still hampered by sluggish oil production despite having vast reserves. Under Biden, the U.S. granted some exemptions for oil companies to work in Venezuela despite sanctions, helping the struggling export industry to recover some of its lost productivity. Maduro will want to see where he can work with the Trump team to continue such allowances and avoid a full embargo. But recent noises coming from the administration have been mixed on this front. On Jan. 20, Trump suggested that he may pull the plug on Venezuelan oil exports to the U.S. 'We don't have to buy their oil. We have plenty of oil for ourselves,' he said. Such a move would be a severe blow to Venezuela's economy, which has benefited from increased exports to the U.S. in recent years. But the move will likely face resistance from oil producers like Chevron, the American company that has a license to operate in Venezuela. It's plausible Trump will be swayed by the elements of his base or administration who view Venezuela primarily in terms of a socialist authoritarian adversary to be defeated. In 2024, Maduro pulled off one of Latin America's great election frauds. Computer printouts had shown the opposition campaign of González and Maria Corina Machado won the July election by a landslide. And yet, Maduro declared himself the winner with no evidence. Many in Trump's circle viewed the fraudulent election as another reason for being hawkish toward the nation – a position that takes in both ideological and electoral considerations. Trump knows there is a strong base of anti-communist Venezuelans in Florida who want to be tough on the Cuban-aligned government of Maduro. The new U.S. administration's deportation policy has already concerned some among this strongly Trump voting base; any relaxation on Maduro could be seen as a further 'betrayal.' And Trump has appointed several people who have long been critical of Maduro, including his national security adviser, Mike Waltz, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio. Rubio, in particular, is a longtime critic of any accommodation with Venezuela. He has spoken to opposition leaders, called González the legitimate president, blasted any relaxation of sanctions and, during his confirmation hearing, labeled Maduro's government 'a narco-trafficking organization.' And while U.S. envoy Grenell has been shaking hands with Maduro, Rubio has been seizing the Venezuelan leader's aircraft. On Feb. 6, the U.S. secretary of state personally oversaw its confiscation while visiting the Dominican Republic, where it had been impounded since last year. During his first administration, Trump failed in his efforts to encourage the replacement of Maduro. In any case, the Venezuelan government under Maduro, like Chavez before him, has shown itself capable of withstanding U.S. pressure. Throwing a further wrinkle to any U.S. intentions of influencing the future of Venezuela is the role China has taken on in the country and Maduro's increasing closeness with Beijing. In contrast to leaders in the West, China's president, Xi Jinping, congratulated Maduro following the latter's claim of victory in 2024. China is the leading importer of Venezuelan crude oil and has signed a series of bilateral trade and tourism pacts that have provided Maduro an economic lifeline. To some U.S. hawks, China's influence with Maduro represents a breach of a long-standing vision of the U.S. as a regional hegemony, as envisioned by the Monroe Doctrine. Yet other voices within the administration – including Trump, who has spoken positively about diplomatic overtures to Beijing, or Elon Musk, who has extensive business interests in China – view the country in far different terms than predecessors. Ultimately, whatever path Trump chooses on relations with Venezuela is likely to be conditioned on what factions win out in his administration and which political constituencies the president is most keen to please. This article is republished from The Conversation, a nonprofit, independent news organization bringing you facts and trustworthy analysis to help you make sense of our complex world. It was written by: Paul Webster Hare, Boston University Read more: Massive protests erupt again over disputed Venezuelan elections – but they look different this time US sovereign wealth fund: A feasible idea to invest strategically, or a giant opportunity for waste? What is Temporary Protected Status? A global migration expert explains why the US offers some foreign nationals temporary protection Paul Webster Hare does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
Yahoo
31-01-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Grenell to give Venezuela a warning from Trump administration
President Trump's envoy for special missions, Richard Grenell, is delivering an in-person message to Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro that there will be consequences if detained Americans are not released and Venezuelan 'criminals and gang members' deported from the U.S. are not repatriated. Grenell is expected to meet with Maduro on Friday. 'He is there on a special mission, and that special mission is very specific,' Mauricio Claver-Carone, Trump's special envoy for Latin America, told reporters in a call Friday. Claver-Carone said the U.S. offer toward Maduro is not a negotiation or a quid pro quo, and expects Maduro to act on Washington's demands. 'All I would do on this call is urge the Maduro government, the Maduro regime in Venezuela, to heed to special envoy Rick Grenell's message and to his demands and what he puts on the table, because ultimately there will be consequences.' The U.S. does not recognize Maduro as the legitimate leader of Venezuela following the contested presidential election in July. Secretary of State Marco Rubio held a call earlier this month with Maduro's challenger, Edmundo González Urrutia, whom he called the 'rightful president' of the country. There are at least 10 Americans jailed in Venezuela but it's not clear how the U.S. classifies their legal status. At least three Americans were swept up in arrests of anti-Maduro protests in December. In December 2023, then-President Biden secured the release of 10 Americans jailed in Venezuela and the return of a fugitive defense contractor known as 'Fat Leonard' in exchange for handing over Maduro's close ally, Alex Saab. Saab was arrested during the first Trump administration, on charges of conspiracy to commit money laundering and a $350 million bribery scheme. This story was updated at 11:48 a.m. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
