Amanda Mattingly is the head of the Truman Project of National Security and the External Relations Officer of the United States Department of State. Work in the United States Embassy in Caracas in 2002 and 2003. Opinions expressed in this column are exclusively exclusive. Read more opinion articles at cnne.com/opinion.
(CNN) – The decision of the United States Government to grant the Temporary Protection of Venezuelans is a welcome step, and it was necessary that President Joe Biden win the White House in order to convert it into a reality. The large economic sanctions of the United States in Venezuela and its expansion by President Donald Trump, including when his administration refused to restore the migratory status of the Venezuelans living in his country, would make a situation in Venezuela.
To extend the TPS to Venezuelans who have been in the United States since at least March 8, the Biden administration granted a temporary legal status to live and work without delay. As a result of the extraordinary humanitarian crisis in Venezuela, this state of affairs has been devastated for years. And the future will have to be avoided by the Trump administration’s immigration policies. As I was told by Charles Shapiro, United States United States Secretary of State, the TPS “was earning from time to time”.
According to the United Nations, 5.4 million Venezuelans live in their own country for political and economic reasons. The mayor crossed the front line between Colombia and Brazil, which carried the peers from the massive exodus of the Venezuelan colony, including the mandate of dictator Nicolás Maduro, but he was also elected to the United States.
Offering the TPS to some 300,000 eligible Venezuelans there is an important humanitarian medium on the part of the United States, and also includes a high campaign promise by Biden.
But we do not need detainees here. The political, economic and humanitarian crisis in Venezuela, provoked by years of maladministration and corruption under the mandate of Maduro and his predecessor, Hugo Chávez, justifies an immediate response from the United States. The TPS needs to be the first step in our efforts to help the Venezuelan people.
Restable to EE.UU. as a democratic leader
First of all, the Biden administration needs to focus on promoting democracy and restoring the United States as a democratic leader in the region. Before the Trump administration, it promotes and defends the pillars of democracy that are outside the policy of the United States of America and all over the world. The stories of the 6th of January in the Capitol will make this work for our diplomats, as indicated by the Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, but to turn to our proposed democratic principles at home, including the right to vote, we will help to recover in the promotion of the principles of democracy and governance in the exterior.
Venezuela is a clear example of what happens when countries elect democratically lead governors not democratically, when democratic institutions are destroyed and when elections are not free. The Venezuelan opposition has gone astray by free and fair elections, while the Venezuelan people have been forced to cross fronts in order to get comedy and medicines, and to prevent political persecution.
The corruption and sobriety of Maduro’s regime, supported by the military and security services of Venezuela, has shown that it is impossible to house a political change in the country.
Biden’s Governor should work with allies to find a solution to the crisis in Venezuela
The Governor of Biden will have to work hard again with his allies in Latin America and Europe to find a pacifist and democratic solution to the political and economic crisis in Venezuela. United States, working on the work of the Lima Group and the Organization of American States, should lead the efforts to host free and fair elections in Venezuela and a pacifist transfer of power.
Biden also needs to be prepared to withdraw general sanctions in the Venezuelan petroleum sector if it means taking Maduro to the bargaining chip to reach an agreement that allows free and fair elections to be celebrated.
Hasta ahora, esas sanctiones generales han perjudicado al peneblo venezolano, no solo a los liders del pais, y no lograron cumplir con su objectiv de derrocar a Maduro. United States will establish sanctions on Venezuela’s petroleum sector in early 2019, when opposition leader Juan Guaidó is in the ascendancy and Trump’s team creates that Maduro will be rescued quickly. Pero eso no sucedió.
If Guaidó organized a valiant campaign, in his pacifist part of Mayor, Maduro won the support of the international community as the legitimate internal leader of Venezuela, we have not been able to meet enough support of the military to oblige Maduro the power. While so many, Maduro and his comrades have the ability to maneuver the Gobierno to flee with the support of Russia, China and Iran and are increasing the oil sanctions of the United States, intending to sell their money and, in addition, trafficking drugs in the region.
Impacted sanctions
If the crisis in Venezuela begins much earlier than the United States applies sanctions in the petroleum sector, then it will not help the situation. In addition, the sanctions in Venezuela should be directed and specific, focused on certain individuals in Maduro and the financial sector. It includes Venezuelans in Ejército, security forces that protect Maduro and take property from the State that benefits Venezuela’s people. The Venezuelans who are the democratic institutions, or who are associated with the violations of human rights, also need to enforce sanctions.
Defending the human rights in Venezuela must also be one of the principal priorities of the Government of Biden. Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and the United Nations have been accused of abusing Maduro’s regime. Although the Governor of Venezuela has denied his reports, defending democracy means defending the human rights and the United States must do his part for Maduro to make amends.
The crisis in Venezuela was not resolved overnight. With 96% of Venezuelans living in poverty today, it takes generations to reverse degradation.
However, the coronavirus pandemic has not been exacerbated since the last year. The Biden administration should look for other forms of assistance to the Venezuelan people that receive the humanitarian assistance they need, including vacancies. The good news is that there is a bipartisan support in the United States to help the Venezuelan people. With sure, the TPS is just the first step.