Background Press Call on Venezuela

Via Teleconference 9:18 A.M. EST MODERATOR: All right, so good morning, everyone. Thank you again for joining us on somewhat of a short notice here. We will be speaking about Venezuela this morning. And on the line, not for reporting purposes, we will have [senior administration official]. We will also have [senior administration official]. And we will also have [senior administration official]. We will be on background, attributable to senior administration officials, and the call will be embargoed until 10:30 a.m. Eastern Time. At the end of the call, I can also email, also under embargo, some of our press releases for you to use in your reporting, but the embargo will lift on all documents and the backgrounder at 10:30 a.m. Eastern Time. With that, I will turn it over to my colleague. Over to you. SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: Great. Thank you very much. And good morning, everyone. Really appreciate your time. We know that most of you are headed into the Thanksgiving holiday. The purpose of the call today is to discuss some actions we're taking related to Venezuela. Tomorrow, November 28th, will mark four months to the day from Venezuela's presidential election, which took place on July 28th, and it was an election in which the Venezuelans voted resoundingly to make Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia the president-elect. As we in the U.S. administration have said many times before, we believe it's extremely important that the voices of the Venezuelan people are heard and that their votes are fairly counted and respected. In the months since July 28th, we have given Nicolas Maduro and his representatives every opportunity to do the right thing, and we have incentivized the possibility of democratic steps. Instead, Maduro and his representatives decided to use violent repression and to seize power at all costs. This is not something the United States will stand for, and nor will other countries in the region stand for this. Therefore, the United States has taken steps to increase pressure against Maduro and his representatives, who are responsible for the electoral fraud that took place on July 28th and afterwards, and the brutal repression that we've seen in the last few months. For this reason, today I'm joined by colleagues from the Department of State and Treasury to inform you of actions the U.S. government will be taking to continue to hold Maduro and its representatives accountable. First, the Department of the Treasury will sanction 21 security and cabinet-level officials aligned with Nicolas Maduro. This includes 15 leaders of the Bolivarian National Guard, Bolivarian National Police, the Bolivarian National Intelligence Service, Bolivarian militia, and the General Directorate of Military Counterintelligence. All of these entities are part of Maduro’s security apparatus and are responsible for violently repressing peaceful protesters and carrying out arbitrary detentions. We have also included Maduro-aligned officials who have been responsible for anti-democratic acts. Concurrently, the Department of State imposed new restrictions on - new visa restrictions on a significant number of Maduro alliance officials who have undermined the electoral process in Venezuela and are responsible for acts of repression. The steps that we are taking today build on multiple actions that we have taken already to hold the current and former Venezuelan officials accountable for undermining democracy in Venezuela and to hold them accountable for violating human rights. These actions will follow on similar sanctions and visa restrictions that we announced last September. To date, we have sanctioned 180 Venezuelan officials and 100 Venezuelan entities. Additionally, we regularly take actions to enforce our sanctions policy to demonstrate to Maduro and his cronies that their undemocratic governance has consequences. This included, last September, the seizure of Maduro’s illegally acquired aircraft. It’s important to point out that the United States does not stand alone in expressing our concerns with Maduro’s anti-democratic actions and in our call for the restoration of democratic norms. I am now going to pass the floor to my colleagues from Department of State and from Treasury, who can discuss the further efforts that we are taking to rally support of the international community for Venezuela's return to democratic norms, as well as additional information on these sanctions actions. Thank you. SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: Good morning. As [senior administration official] mentioned, tomorrow marks four months since Venezuela's presidential election. It also marks four months of Nicolas Maduro’s refusal to recognize the will of the Venezuelan people and his brutal repression of those defending the true results of the election. We have witnessed the Venezuelan people's courage and commitment to democracy in the face of repression, threats, unjust detentions, and censorship. They overcome daily adversity as they clamor for a democratic transition and their rights to freedom of expression. Maduro and his representatives continue to ignore calls from their own people and the international community for transparency, and instead use brute force to silence dissenters. And they fail to present evidence that supports any shred of Maduro’s false claim to victory. Democratic governments in the region and around the world press Maduro as a united front for transparency and a restoration of democracy in Venezuela. The Organization of American States, for example, adopted a U.S.-led resolution on this topic by consensus. More than 50 countries supported Panama’s statement of concern in New York, outside the U.N. Security Council. And at the U.N. General Assembly in September, more than 50 countries and the EU called on Venezuela to end political repression and respect the results of the election. Just this week, at the G7 foreign ministers meeting in Italy, G7 countries called on Venezuela to release political prisoners and respect the voters’ decision for democratic change. As [senior administration official] already noted, today we are using our sanctions authorities to impose costs on 21 Maduro-aligned individuals for their myriad abuses against the Venezuelan people and attempts to steal the election. Our sanctions policy seeks to incentivize democratic actions in Venezuela, the only path to resolve Venezuela's political, economic, and humanitarian crisis. We will continue to promote accountability for Maduro and his representatives so long as they continue repressing the Venezuelan people. SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: Thank you all for joining today. As my colleagues mentioned, today the Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control, or OFAC, is sanctioning 21 security and cabinet-level officials aligned with Nicolas Maduro. These individuals are sanctioned pursuant to Executive Order 13692, as amended, for being current or former officials of the government of Venezuela. They have supported and carried out Maduro’s orders to repress civil society in his efforts to fraudulently declare himself the winner of Venezuela's July 28th presidential election, thus ignoring the will of the overwhelming majority of Venezuelan voters who elected Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia as their next president. Following this election, Venezuelan security forces have arbitrarily arrested democratic opposition supporters en masse, violently suppressed protests, and denied individuals the right to assemble peacefully without backlash. These tactics also involved issuing an unjustified arrest warrant against President-elect Urrutia, prompting his departure from Venezuela. The United States joins other democracies in the region and across the world in condemning this subversion of democratic norms. We stand with the Venezuelan people and support those seeking to restore democracy in Venezuela. The Biden-Harris administration will continue to use our tools to hold Maduro and his cronies accountable, and support the democratic aspirations of the Venezuelan people. The individuals sanctioned today are senior Venezuelan officials, including from the Maduro-aligned Bolivarian National Guard, Bolivarian National Police, militia, National Intelligence Service, and General Directorate of Military Counterintelligence. Again, these individuals are being designated pursuant to Executive Order 13692. To date, OFAC has sanctioned over 150 Venezuelan individuals and 100 Venezuelan entities to target current or former officials for taking anti-democratic actions and violating human rights. Since the July 28th election, Maduro and his representatives have indiscriminately arrested Venezuelans for exercising their political and civil rights, and deployed a range of intimidation tactics to silence the opposition. As a result of today's action, all property and interests in property of the designated persons described above, and of any entities that are owned directly or indirectly, 50 percent or more of them, individually, or with other blocked persons, that are in the United States or in the possession or control of U.S. persons must be reported to OFAC. Unless authorized by a general or specific license issued by OFAC, or exempt, OFAC’s regulations generally prohibit all transactions by U.S. persons or within (transiting) the United States that involve any property or interest in property of designated or otherwise blocked persons. We take these actions very seriously by Maduro and his cronies, and will continue to hold those responsible who are not abiding by the will of the people. Thank you. MODERATOR: Thank you very much for those opening remarks. For those who joined just a couple of minutes late, just a reminder that this call is on background, attributable to senior administration officials. It is embargoed until 10:30 a.m. Eastern Time today. With that, I'll turn it over to questions. Please raise your hand and we will unmute you. Please state your name and your outlet. With that, we'll go to Gabe. Q Hi there. Good morning. Gabe Gutierrez with NBC. Appreciate you doing this. Question: Have you spoken to the incoming Trump transition team about Venezuela specifically? And how aligned are you with them on, you know, these sanctions and the policy? And also, while I have you, can anybody from NSC offer up any more information on the three Americans that have just been released from China? Thank you. MODERATOR: We'll take the China question and we'll get back to you, and our colleagues at the press team can send you a statement. We'll take your first question. Over to [senior administration officials]. SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: Sure. I'll jump in here. So we're undertaking these actions with respect to Venezuela as part of the Biden administration's engagement in advancing democracy in Venezuela and also holding the Venezuelan regime and regime actors accountable for practices that include political repression, subverting the democratic will of the people, and things that run - and issues that run counter to good governance in Venezuela. So these actions, you know, are part of our overall policy framework. We obviously are aware that there will be a change in administration on January 20th. And at that juncture, a new administration can take up this issue of Venezuela. MODERATOR: All right, we'll go to the next question. We'll go to Juan Merlano. Q Thank you, Vanessa. Thank you, everybody. This is Juan Merlano, Caracol TV, Colombia. And Happy Thanksgiving, by the way. [Senior administration official], maybe you can help us with this. Is there any plan to have a meeting between President Biden and President-elect Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia before he tries to go back to Venezuela? Thank you. SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: Sure. So I can't speak further to President Biden’s schedule at this time. However, the Biden administration in both word and deed has been very supportive of Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia in terms of respecting the electoral victory that he achieved on July 28th. And recently, we've also proclaimed that we view Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia to be the president-elect in Venezuela. And so, these policies of continuing to support the will of the Venezuelan people are going to remain central to how the Biden administration engages with the issue of Venezuela. SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: I'll just add that Secretary Blinken and other U.S. senior officials have spoken with Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia on multiple occasions, and we continue to be in close touch with him and with Maria Corina Machado and other opposition figures in Venezuela. And we prioritize their views and insights as we look to find a positive way forward. MODERATOR: Thank you very much. We'll go to Celia Mendoza. Please state your outlet. Q Hi. Thank you so much. Celia Mendoza, Voice of America. So my question goes a little bit more into - we understand that Nicolas Maduro has not responded to pressure. What these new sanctions could do for him to change his course? As we see it right now, he keeps jailing people; he keeps moving forward with his government; is expected for him to be taking power for the next six years in January. How does the administration see the last few months of the Biden-Harris strategy to actually impact or make a dent on what so far has not been any advancement? And then, the other part of that question is: Where is the conversations that were initially talked with Mexico, Colombia, Brazil? So far, we have not seen any advancement on that front. Would it be possible to reengage those countries, before the administration leaves, to be able to see any changes? Just yesterday, the government in Diosdado Cabello said that they were going to do a trial against Maria Corina Machado, who's still in the country, and they said they will do it even if she's not present, which, of course, is a signal that they will go after her. And the prospective of that happening within the next few months looks like imminent if we follow what he has done. SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: So I think it's important to recognize that Nicolas Maduro, with those around him, have never been more politically isolated. Scores of countries have come out and recognized that all indications are that Edmundo Gonzalez won the election. They've called on Maduro to substantiate his position. He's never been able to provide any evidence to refute Edmundo Gonzalez's overwhelming more than 2-to-1 victory in the election on July 28th. The countries around Venezuela have said that they are not going to recognize Nicolas Maduro as president of Venezuela absent the provision of some evidence to demonstrate that. The international coalition of countries that seeks democracy in Venezuela is strong, it is large, and it will continue to press Maduro and those around them to come to the table and talk about a democratic transition. The frontline states have a special role to play in that process. Countries like Colombia and Brazil, in particular, with borders with Venezuela, are influential, and they've continued to raise concerns in ways that we have not seen previously. This is very important for the future of Venezuela, the welfare of the Venezuelan people. SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: And if I could, I'll just add to that that these actions that are being taken today are directed towards the Maduro regime but also towards specific individuals and entities in the Maduro regime that have been found credibly accused of perpetrating in acts of repression and contravening the will of the Venezuelan people. And so, I really do encourage you and everyone on this call to read the OFAC press release, which details the fact that you've got people who are, you know, in some cases, operating regional command zones that have been under the jurisdiction of Maduro, that have targeted innocent civilians for repression and reprisals. It also includes senior officials in the Venezuelan government who have strong ties to Diosdado Cabello, a senior regime figure. And so, I think that the signal that these sanctions will send is not merely about holding Nicolas Maduro accountable, but that, in fact, regime officials who are acting unlawfully to uphold this regime based on repressive tactics will also find themselves in the crosshairs of these sanctions. MODERATOR: Thank you. We'll go to David Alandete. Please state your outlet. Q Thank you so much. This is David Alandete from Diario ABC in Spain. I just have a question regarding European recognition of Edmundo Gonzalez, (inaudible) Spain, but there is still delay in the Spanish government recognizing him as president-elect. And I wanted to know if you expect this to happen before the end of President Biden's term, and if it would be helpful for these efforts, given the fact that the European Parliament and the Spanish Senate, separately, have recognized him. Thank you. SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: Well, thanks so much. Those decisions are sovereign decisions for each country to make. But as you rightly point out, key institutions in Europe have already called Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia the president-elect. And the pressure that that puts on the Maduro authorities is significant. We believe that it reflects the reality of the will of Venezuelan voters, and we believe that it's urgent that all the countries that are committed to seeing democratic change in Venezuela publicly continue to press for that and to express their concern publicly and privately with Maduro authorities. SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: And I'd also like to take this opportunity to highlight that, yesterday, the G7 foreign ministers put out a statement - which was released by the foreign ministers of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, the United States, and the high representative of the European Union - which treats, among other subjects, the topic of Venezuela. Regarding Venezuela, the G7 foreign ministers said that: “On July 28th, the Venezuelan people made a clear choice in the polls, voting for democratic change and supporting Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia by a significant majority, according to publicly available electoral records. We will continue to support efforts by regional partners to facilitate a Venezuelan-led democratic and peaceful transition that will ensure respect for the will of the voters. We are deeply troubled by the continued violations and abuses of human rights, including arbitrary detentions and severe restrictions on fundamental freedoms, targeting in particular political opponents, civil society, and independent media. All unjustly detained political prisoners must be released.” And so, that is a statement - that includes all the G7 foreign ministers, including the high representative of the European Union. MODERATOR: Thank you. We'll go to Karen DeYoung. Q Hi, it's Karen DeYoung at the Washington Post. I have a couple of questions. First, has any consideration been given to lifting licenses, such as General License 41, or any individual licenses that have been given to the energy production and export, or any other part of the Venezuelan economy? Secondly, on the recognition of Edmundo Gonzalez as the president, [senior administration official] said that this imposes significant pressure. But I wonder if you could talk about exactly what it means. If one goes back to the period of Juan Guaidó, what that actually accomplished and what you expect the recognition to accomplish. And finally, after the election, the United States tried to hold some meetings with representatives of Maduro. I wonder if you could tell me when you last met with any representatives of the Maduro government. Thank you. SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: Sure. I'll take question one and three and then let [senior administration official] comment. So in terms of the licenses and overall U.S. sanctions and licensing policy, this is something that is under continual review by us as we seek to achieve our foreign policy objectives in Venezuela. And so, we are obviously always evaluating events on the ground in Venezuela, how that corresponds to our sanctions policy, what steps that we can take that may provoke greater divisions in the regime as well. And so, this is something we're going to continue to review moving forward and certainly all the way to the end of this administration. And then, with respect to direct talks with Maduro authorities, we really can't comment on diplomatic - discreet diplomatic discussions. But what we can say is that we remain in constant contact with a wide range of allies in the region and beyond, with respect to developments in Venezuela. MODERATOR: [Senior administration official], are you trying to speak? SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: I was thinking, I think [senior administration official] covered it all, so I don't think I have anything to add. MODERATOR: Great. More chance for questions. We'll go next to Carla Angola. Please state your outlet. Q Good morning. Thank you for doing this. My first question is - Carla Angola from EVTV. The president of Venezuela has reported that he's willing to return to the country on January 10 to take office. Would the United States be willing to accompany him, from a logistical point of view, on that return and protect his physical integrity? Or would you participate in some way in the operation to return home the president-elect, Edmundo Gonzalez? This is my first one. And regarding the license to Chevron, at first, this administration assured that Maduro would not have any profit from the sale of that oil. But on the contrary, some suspect that the license granted to Chevron is allowing Maduro to finance the repression of innocent people. Does this administration plan to suspend that license before leaving the White House? Thank you so much. SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: Well, let me just note, in terms of the logistics question that was asked: The United States government has not received a request from Edmundo Gonzalez for assistance in his transportation, and we did not participate in his departure from Venezuela, and we were not asked to do so. If we were to receive a request from him, we would consider that. But, you know, we don't recognize the Maduro authorities, so it's something that, you know, we're not in touch with them on these types of issues. And I'll leave the rest for [senior administration official]. SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: Thanks. I'll just share that as we review our overall sanctions policy and licensing policy towards Venezuela, this is under constant monitoring and review, and we are willing to calibrate and adjust as needed in order to advance U.S. foreign policy objectives. MODERATOR: Great. We have time for one, maybe two questions if we go through them quickly. We'll go to Eric Bazail-Eimil. Q Hi. Thanks for doing this. Eric Bazail-Eimil from Politico. Look, can I just get more clarity on why, at this point, the administration is still reviewing those licenses and isn't more actively pursuing energy sanctions? There's only a month left until - about a month, with a rounding error, for, you know, the handover to occur. And energy sanctions seem to be the only thing that have gotten Maduro to go to the negotiating table in the past. So I'm curious if you could just explain that. SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: Sure. Well, I think that there's - you know, first of all, there's a number of things that have moved Maduro to the negotiating table at different junctures, which includes international pressure, their desire to seek some sort of legitimacy, obviously a desire that is not being met, given the malfeasance that followed the July 28th election. And so, we review this policy on a comprehensive basis, both the sanctions, of which there are still quite extensive sanctions towards Venezuela at a sectoral level, and also, as we're discussing today, at an individual level, targeted at regime officials who have committed human rights abuses. But we also have a number of other aspects of our policy towards Venezuela which are critical to our overall shaping of this policy. And so, this is something that we're going to continue to look at very carefully, both with respect to U.S. foreign policy interests and in consultation with a wider set of partners and allies. SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: I would just add that just because we have not taken an action so far, does not mean that we will not take an action in the future - though, obviously, as we said many times, we do not preview our sanctions decisions. MODERATOR: Great. And with that, we'll go with one last question. We'll go to Regina Garcia Cano. Please state your outlet. Q Hi there. Thank you for doing this. I have a follow-up on that, on licenses. The opposition advisors to Maria Corina Machado and Edmundo Gonzalez have openly said that they would like to see particularly the Chevron license canceled, and I'm sure they've expressed that to you directly. The explanation for that license, at least in writing, when it was issued was all about democracy and getting to have a more free and fair election. We already saw what happened on July 28th. So with those 45 days left between now and January 10th, when the next presidential term starts in Venezuela, you say you're still reviewing and that you haven't taken it doesn't mean that you won't take it in the future. But why - you know, if it was based in the idea of democracy, why is that still in place? That was, at least in writing, the argument for this. SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: As we said previously, we are continually reviewing our sanctions policy to achieve U.S. foreign policy objectives. MODERATOR: Great. Thank you. That's all the time we have for today. Thanks again for joining us. Again, the call was embargoed until - it is embargoed until 10:30 a.m. Eastern Time, and it is attributable to senior administration officials. We will have a transcript also on our WhiteHouse.gov website later this afternoon. Thanks again, and happy holidays. 9:53 A.M. EST The post Background Press Call on Venezuela appeared first on The White House.