WASHINGTON, D.C. (January 9, 2025) – Ahead of illegitimate Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro’s planned inauguration this Friday, January 10, 2025, the McCain Institute continues to urge immediate action by the U.S. government to ensure the peaceful removal of Maduro and the release of American hostages and political prisoners in Venezuela. These actions include:
- Immediately reimpose full sanctions on Venezuela’s oil and gas sector as they were prior to the 2023 Barbados Agreement, which the Maduro regime has blatantly violated.
- Issue new individual sanctions and visa bans against Maduro regime officials and their families, beyond the 21 issued in November 2024.
- Prioritize efforts to work with Latin American democratic allies to isolate, prosecute, arrest, and defeat the Maduro regime.
- Work to free all political prisoners and hostages, including McCain Global Leader Jesús Armas, who was kidnapped and disappeared by the Maduro regime on December 10, 2024.
“Senator McCain was a longtime critic of oppressive autocrats and human rights abusers in Venezuela. He would want us to stand with the courageous Venezuelan people who are fighting for freedom and a new democratic future,” said McCain Institute Executive Director Dr. Evelyn Farkas. “The U.S. government must support the Venezuelan democratic opposition by utilizing all available diplomatic tools to facilitate the peaceful downfall of Maduro and the release of Americans and other political prisoners held hostage, including our own McCain Global Leader Jesús Armas.”
McCain Institute Assistant Director for Democracy Programs Pedro Pizano joined the Washington, D.C., rally attended by Venezuela’s legitimate President-elect Edmundo González on January 6, 2025.
This week, rally goers around the world called for the peaceful removal of Maduro ahead of his fraudulent inauguration. McCain Institute Assistant Director for Democracy Programs Pedro Pizano joined the Washington, D.C. rally attended by Venezuela’s legitimate President-elect Edmundo González.
“I was proud to stand in solidarity with President-elect Edmundo González, Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado, and other Venezuelan leaders present, including Rodrigo DiAmanti, Carla Angola, David Smolansky, and Miguel Pizarro,” said Pizano. “I also commend the twelve former Latin American presidents and six former Foreign Ministers who have reportedly said they’re going to travel with President-elect González back to Venezuela this week.”
“A free and democratic Venezuela can’t come soon enough,” Pizano continued. “Since Venezuela’s unfree and unfair July 2024 elections, the Maduro regime has arbitrarily detained Venezuelans like Armas and 50 foreigners, including an estimated four to seven Americans — and, yesterday, the President-elect’s son-in-law — to terrorize civil society into submission, and use them as geo-political pawns. That’s on top of the more than 1,750 political prisoners being held hostage. Armas is reportedly being tortured with a black plastic bag over his head at the Helicoide prison, which some have labeled the largest torture center in the hemisphere. It is imperative that Jesús and all other political prisoners and hostages are released immediately.”
The Maduro regime has inflicted untold suffering on the Venezuelan people. Together with the former elected autocrat of Venezuela President Hugo Chávez and his cronies, their failed ideology, corruption, and ongoing repression destroyed the prosperity and the freedom of an entire country of more than 20 million people. As a result, millions of Venezuelans have been forced to flee. The Maduro regime has also strengthened its ties with China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea (the CRINKs), giving America’s most dangerous adversaries a foothold in the Western Hemisphere.
About the McCain Institute at Arizona State University
The McCain Institute is a nonpartisan organization inspired by Senator John McCain and his family’s dedication to public service. We are part of Arizona State University and based in Washington, D.C. Our programs defend democracy, advance human rights and freedom, and empower character-driven leaders. Our unique power to convene leaders across the global political spectrum enables us to make a real impact on the world’s most pressing challenges. Our goal is action, not talk, and like Senator McCain, we are fighting to create a free, safe, and just world for all.
About Arizona State University
Arizona State University has developed a new model for the American research university, creating an institution that is committed to access, excellence, and impact. ASU measures itself by those it includes, not by those it excludes. As the prototype for a New American University, ASU pursues research that contributes to the public good, and ASU assumes major responsibility for the economic, social, and cultural vitality of the communities that surround it.
