Venezuelan people at home and abroad recently had the opportunity to voice their opinion of the illegitimate Nicolas Maduro regime through the Consulta Popular, or People’s Vote. From December 7 to 12, millions of Venezuelans weighed in digitally or at in-person polling places in Venezuela, other Latin American nations, the U.S., and Europe. The referendum was organized by the Venezuelan opposition, held under the authority of the legitimate National Assembly, and in accordance with the Venezuelan constitution.
The Consulta Popular provided a platform for Venezuelans, including those forced to flee abroad under threat of persecution, torture, or death, to demand free and fair presidential and legislative elections.
Secretary Pompeo congratulated the Venezuelan people on the success of the Consulta Popular, noting that the Venezuelan people clearly rejected the “electoral fraud” perpetrated by the illegitimate regime of Nicolas Maduro in the National Assembly elections of December 6.
The Consulta outcome, declared Secretary Pompeo, “is a clear mandate that the Interim government must continue fighting for democracy’s return to Venezuela.” He added that “the Venezuelan people deserve the support of every democratic nation in this struggle.”
Secretary Pompeo described the Consulta as “an audacious democratic project” and an unprecedented achievement “despite all the challenges of life in Venezuela — gas shortages, electricity outages, and regime harassment such as blocked and deleted websites, violent intimidation, repression, and persecution.”
The success of the Consulta demonstrates the power of millions of Venezuelan people to organize and rally for change and energizes the fight to return free and fair presidential and parliamentary elections to Venezuela.
“The democratically elected National Assembly and the voice of the Venezuelan people are the only things standing in the way of authoritarianism in Venezuela,” declared Secretary Pompeo. “The international community can best support democracy in Venezuela by uniting behind the Venezuelan people as they raise their voices to demand an end to the brutal Maduro dictatorship and a return to democracy.”
