Wall Street Journal: Washington offers Maduro asylum in exchange for stepping down

The Wall Street Journal reported, citing White House sources, that the administration of US President Joe Biden offered Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro political asylum in exchange for stepping down from the country’s presidency.

The Wall Street Journal reported that Maduro and senior officials will face criminal charges in the future.

According to the report, Washington is trying to convince them to resign before the start of the new presidential term next January, in exchange for obtaining political asylum.

The Wall Street Journal quoted the source as saying that the United States would pledge not to return Maduro and senior officials to Venezuela if they were tried by the country’s judicial authorities in the future.

The secret talks between the United States and the Maduro government were a hope for the opposition, which claims to have won the elections held on July 28 by a large margin and rejected the results of the elections.

The Wall Street Journal reported that the issue of Maduro stepping down was on the agenda of the secret agreement talks held between the United States and Venezuela in the Qatari capital, Doha, last year.

According to Wall Street Journal, Maduro at the time refused to discuss the issue of his resignation.

Last week, Maduro posted documents on social media related to the secret agreement reached with the United States and signed in Qatar.

The documents released indicate that the Biden administration and the Maduro administration agreed to lift US sanctions on Venezuela in the oil, banking and gold sectors if the opposition participates in the country’s presidential elections.

At a press conference held by Maduro on Friday, he addressed Washington, saying, “Don’t interfere in Venezuela’s internal affairs… This is my only request from you”.

A senior official in the White House, who requested anonymity, said that the United States hadn’t made any offer to Maduro, but was ready to discuss all possibilities in order to get the country out of the situation it has reached.

The US official said they are working on a number of options to pressure Maduro to recognize the real results of the elections.

“The responsibility lies with Maduro and the Venezuelan authorities to clarify the election results,” he said.

On July 28, Venezuela held presidential elections in which current President Nicolas Maduro won with 51.20% of the vote.

For its part, the opposition rejected the election results, claiming that the National Elections Council’s data was incorrect and that the results were falsified.

As a result, the country witnessed widespread protests that led to the death of a soldier and 17 civilians.