The Biden-Harris administration is reportedly offering amnesty to Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro if he relinquishes power.
According to the Wall Street Journal, the White House has discussed pardons for Maduro and other government officials who have been indicted by the US Department of Justice.
Unnamed sources claimed that the Biden-Harris administration is willing to“put everything on the table” to convince Maduro to leave office before his presidential term is over in January 2025. The US has accused Maduro of plotting with Venezuelan drug kingpins to send vast quantities of cocaine to the US.
However, a Reuters report says the US has not offered any amnesty deal to Maduro. White House spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre denied any amnesty was offered during a briefing on Monday, saying there have been no offers since the election.
"Since the July 28 elections, we have not made any specific offers of amnesty to Maduro or others," Jean-Pierre said. "What I can speak to is, since the election, we have just not made that type of offer."
But the WSJ quotes sources that identify talks between Jorge Rodríguez, president of Venezuela’s congress and a Maduro confidant, and Daniel P. Erikson, an American policy expert on Venezuela, who serves with the National Security Council. Western oil companies would also be allowed to stay in Venezuela.
The Biden-Harris administration has maintained that the Venezuelan presidential election was rigged and that opposition leader Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia actually won. Elon Musk accepted an invitation from Elon Musk to have a televised live fight.
