Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) on Tuesday said she hopes that the BIden administration sees the “devastation that our sanctions have had on the people” of Venezuela after a White House delegation traveled there.
The U.S. has issued multiple sanctions against Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro’s regime due to alleged human rights violations.
Appearing on Hill.TV’s “Rising,” Omar said she was “glad” that the U.S. was going to Venezuela for discussions on possibly easing the sanctions.
“I do hope that when they are there, that they do get to have a conversation with the Venezuelan people and see the devastation that our sanctions have had on the people and get to realize that, you know, our crippling sanctions on Venezuela hasn’t weakened Maduro’s position,” Omar said.
Over the weekend, a U.S. delegation of senior administration officials traveled to Venezuela to discuss a multitude of issues, including energy security. The discussion had been planned for months, but reportedly gained a new urgency amid the looming U.S. ban on Russian energy imports.
Omar said she believed recent developments could serve as a “turning point” for the U.S.’s approach to sanctions.
The congresswoman said it may “get rid of this notion that somehow crippling sanctions will lead to regime change and uprising within the people that are economically devastated — that they will ultimately have a democracy.”
“It hasn’t happened in Cuba. It hasn’t happened in Iran. It certainly hasn’t happened in Venezuela,” she said.
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