New York Times says US offers amnesty to Nicolás Maduro

A US newspaper article The New York Times On Wednesday, US diplomacy offered the Venezuelan dictator an amnesty and a "dignified exit" in exchange for the abandonment of power in Venezuela. At the same time, the Treasury Department plans to appoint the chavist leader as the beneficiary of drug trafficking in Venezuela.

The statement was provided by Elliott Abrams, Venezuelan envoy to the White House for Venezuela. The diplomat said that there was no sign that Maduro was ready to resign, so the administration of the President Donald Trump offered him a negotiation: "We want you to leave power."

"This is not a persecution," said Abrams in an interview Tuesday afternoon, August 27. "We are not looking for him, we want him to have a dignified exit and that he will leave." He added in a message to Maduro: "We do not want to sue you and we do not want to persecute you. We want you to leave power. "

"The pragmatic appeal and milder tone of Abrams," said the NYT, "contrast with eight months of sanctions, international isolation and threats from the Trump administration regarding a possible military intervention against Maduro and his close entourage, accused of hanging on to power and manipulating the elections of last year. "

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According to the newspaper, "Abrams tried to dispel the confusion surrounding the Trump administration's efforts to force Maduro to leave the presidency" after Trump and Maduro confirmed last week the existence of secret talks between the two governments. According to Bloomberg, these American discussions with members of Chavismo are actually negotiating the resignation of Maduro..

"The idea that we are negotiating is completely wrong," the diplomat told NYT. "And the idea that there is a pattern of contacts is wrong. There have been intermittent messages and I think Washington's occasional message is totally predictable: "They must become a democratic country again. Maduro must leave power. You should not run for an election. We will not withdraw the sanctions until you leave the government. "

"The messages that the United States sends to the chavist government are generally communicated openly in official communiqués, tweets and, in some cases, through European diplomats or religious leaders," the NYT said. "Beyond reiterating the demands that Maduro leaves Miraflores, these intermediaries have expressed concern about the health and situation of at least five Americans detained in Venezuela."

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"Any direct contact between Washington and Maduro would risk parallel negotiations between government and opposition representatives – led by Juan Guaidó, that the United States qualifies as legitimate president – they practice in Norway and Barbados, "add the authors.

Abrams also said in the interview that the White House will not support new elections if the candidates are Maduro or Guaidóand said that if they wanted to run, they should first leave their duties [presidente y presidente encargado] to avoid arguing over whether the vote has been manipulated.

"Any amnesty offer from the United States would have limits," says the NYT., which recalls the statements of a White House official that the Trump administration does not intend to withdraw its charges of drug trafficking like those of several politicians close to Maduro and his relatives.

S.D.