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1 1 (February 17, 2023)

handle is hein.crs/govekpx0001 and id is 1 raw text is: \Congressional ____ A Research Service Venezuela: Issues for the 118th Congress February 17, 2023 U.S. policy toward Venezuela may be shifting amid growing recognition that an array of sanctions and international support for an interim government since 2019 have failed to dislodge authoritarian President Nicolas Maduro. Within Venezuela, the Unity Platform of opposition parties has adjusted its strategy, deciding to compete in presidential elections due in 2024, dissolve the interim government led by Juan Guaid6, and negotiate with the Maduro government. Meanwhile, some foreign governments have moved to normalize relations with the Maduro government. The Biden Administration has engaged in talks with Maduro and has offered sanctions relief if negotiations produce meaningful progress for the Venezuelan people and democracy in the country. Congress may consider legislation and oversight steps to shape U.S. policy responses to developments in Venezuela. The Venezuelan Opposition's Strategy Former President Hugo Chivez (1999-2013) and Maduro have fomented divisions within the Venezuelan opposition; Maduro has used state institutions to quash dissent. The opposition has boycotted most elections since 2015. In 2019, it united behind Guaid6's efforts to combine domestic protests and international pressure to convince Maduro to step down. Although Guaid6 gained international recognition (and control of some Venezuelan assets abroad), Maduro has remained in control, buoyed by support from international allies (Russia, China, and Iran), corrupt security forces, and illicit revenue. By 2021, the opposition had begun exploring a new approach-competing in elections even under imperfect circumstances-to overcome the stalemate. They welcomed the reconstituted National Electoral Council, announced in May 2021, which has opposition representation. They engaged in Norway-mediated talks with Maduro representatives in August-September 2021 that sought to address humanitarian issues. Although Maduro suspended those talks in October 2021, the negotiations laid the foundation for a November 2022 humanitarian accord to use Venezuelan assets frozen abroad to create a U.N.-administered humanitarian fund. Some in the opposition welcomed the presence of European Union (EU) electoral observers during November 2021 legislative and municipal elections in which the opposition won a gubernatorial victory in Chivez's home state of Barinas. Pro-election observers urge Maduro to adopt EU recommendations on how to level the playing field for future elections; skeptics doubt his government will allow any meaningful reforms. Opposition parties scheduled a primary election for October 2023 to select a unified presidential candidate for 2024. They continue to face many obstacles in a country ranked not free by Freedom Congressional Research Service https://crsreports.congress.gov IN12112 CRS INSIGHT Prepared for Members and Committees of Congress

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