State Department refutes false WSJ report alleging US offered Venezuela’s Maduro amnesty

The State Department refuted a Wall Street Journal report claiming that the Biden administration had proposed amnesty to Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro in exchange for stepping down after his 11-year tenure.

Principal Deputy Spokesperson Vedant Patel dismissed the report during a press briefing, stating, “That is not true. We have not made any offers to Maduro or others since this election.”

Contrary to Patel’s statements, the Wall Street Journal report cited “three people familiar with the Biden administration deliberation[s]” indicating secret meetings in Doha, Qatar in June and September 2023 between the U.S. and Venezuela, according to the Wall Street Journal report.

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Details following the meetings have been scarce, though reports released last year indicated that chief adviser to Maduro, Jorge Rodríguez, and the White House National Security Council’s former senior director for the Western Hemisphere, Juan González, met at least twice to discuss an array of issues on top of the alleged amnesty proposal, including sanctions relief, according to a document posted by Maduro to X. The U.S., however, has never verified this information.

The Wall Street Journal report further suggested that Maduro’s top officers facing judicial indictments over offenses relating to charges of conspiring to export cocaine to the U.S., could also see amnesty agreements.

The State Department did not respond to inquiries about the Wall Street Journal report, but a spokesperson for the White House National Security Council supported the department’s assertions.

“Since the July 28 election, we have not made any specific offers of amnesty to Nicolás Maduro or others,” Director of Strategic Communications and Assistant Spokesperson to the National Security Council Vanessa Vidal Castellanos told Fox News Digital.

“In coordination with our partners, we are considering a range of options to incentivize and pressure Maduro to recognize the election results and will continue to do so, but the responsibility is on Maduro and Venezuela’s electoral authorities to come clean on the election results,” she added.

According to the report, an amnesty proposal was allegedly floated as a way to incentivize Maduro to step down before his term was set to end.

Opponents of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro’s government protest in Caracas on July 29, 2024, a day after the Venezuelan presidential election. (Raul Arboleda/AFP via Getty Images)

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However, Maduro reportedly refused to engage in discussions that required him to leave office, a stance he has maintained since the recent national election.

Despite calls for his resignation and evidence suggesting he lost to opposition leader Edmundo González, Maduro has remained steadfast in retaining power.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken supported the assertion that Maduro lost the election, stating, “Given the overwhelming evidence, it is clear to the United States and, most importantly, to the Venezuelan people that Edmundo González Urrutia won the most votes in Venezuela’s July 28 presidential election.”

An army soldier holds a ballot box as he takes part in a military parade displaying electoral material to be used in the upcoming presidential elections at Fuerte Tiuna in Caracas on July 24, 2024. (STRINGER/AFP via Getty Images)

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The UN General Assembly has offered to mediate the election results as a third party to settle the unrest in Venezuela.

Despite pressure to step down, Maduro’s regime has arrested protesters and dissidents, maintained military support, and appointed a pro-Maduro Supreme Court to address any election disputes.

Maduro’s stance on leaving office remains firm.