Ocasio Cortez Maduro
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) accused the United States of using “non-democratic means” to determine the leadership of Venezuela, a charge echoed by the authoritarian states backing Nicolas Maduro’s socialist regime.
Ocasio-Cortez did not elaborate on what “non-democratic” methods she believed the U.S. government to be using.
On Wednesday, the Trump administration recognized Juan Guaidó, the president of the Venezuelan National Assembly, as the interim president of Venezuela. The Trump administration did in support of a constitutional provision in Venezuela that was designed to counteract potential tyranny, as Breitbart News’ national security editor Frances Martel explained (original links):
When asked if internationally recognized interim president Juan Guaido or Socialist leader Nicolas Maduro was Venezuela’s rightful president, Ocasio-Cortez reportedly told National Review’s John McCormack that she would defer to party leadership before taking a position on the issue. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez uncharacteristically offered no opinion on a question about supporting the Nicolas Maduro regime in Venezuela. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D., N.Y.) didn't respond directly to a question Monday about whether to denounce the autocratic Nicolas Maduro regime in Venezuela, but she took it as an opportunity. A Venezuelan citizen who left the crisis-stricken country in his teens for America is speaking out against socialism and the Maduro regime - and giving a warning to anyone who may support the.
The National Assembly leader assumed the presidency of the country through the authority vested in Articles 333 and 350 of the constitution of Venezuela. Article 333 requires all Venezuelan citizens to “assume the duty of collaborating to reestablish the constitutional order,” while Article 350 requires Venezuelan citizens to not recognize as legitimate any “regime, legislation, or authority that defies the values, principles, and democratic guarantees [in the constitution], or that violates human rights.”
After the U.S., many other countries followed suit, including Canada — governed by Liberal Justin Trudeau, a darling of the American left — as well as several other Latin American countries, with a few notable exceptions. Iran, the Hezbollah terrorist group, the Palestinian Authority, Cuba, Russia, and other authoritarian regimes denounced the U.S. and stood behind Maduro.
Ocasio-Cortez, a “democratic socialist,” told the conservative Daily Caller on Thursday: “I think that, you know, the humanitarian crisis [in Venezuela] is extremely concerning but, you know, when we use non-Democratic means to determine leadership, that’s also concerning, as well.” She added: “So, we’re figuring out our response and making sure that we center the people of Venezuela first and foremost.”
Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN), a close ally of Ocasio-Cortez through the left-wing “Justice Democrats,” was widely mocked on Thursday for denouncing what she called the “US backed coup” in Venezuela, claiming that the opposition was “far right.”
A US backed coup in Venezuela is not a solution to the dire issues they face. Trump’s efforts to install a far right opposition will only incite violence and further destabilize the region. We must support Mexico, Uruguay & the Vatican’s efforts to facilitate a peaceful dialogue.
Ocasio Cortez Maduro
— Ilhan Omar (@IlhanMN) January 25, 2019
Guaidó is a socialist, and his party belongs to the Socialist International.
In a statement, socialist Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) was more forthright, condemning Maduro’s destruction of Venezuela’s democracy and economy. Still, he objected to U.S. policy as “regime change,” ignoring Venezuela’s own constitutional process.
Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. He is also the co-author of How Trump Won: The Inside Story of a Revolution, which is available from Regnery. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.
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Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., is apparently refraining from weighing in on the uprising in Venezuela, saying she'll 'defer to caucus leadership.'
A report from National Review outlines the split within the Democratic Party regarding foreign policy on whether the U.S. should intervene militarily and whether to recognize Nicolás Maduro or Juan Guaidó as Venezuela's legitimate president.
'Violence is horrible,' Ocasio-Cortez said initially to National Review. When pressed further on whether the U.S. should recognize Maduro or Guaidó, she responded by saying she'll 'defer to caucus leadership on how we navigate this.”
Ocasio Cortez Supports Maduro
This comes a day after her progressive colleague and close friend Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn, placed partial blamed on U.S. policies of the Trump administration for the 'devastation' in Venezuela.
Ocasio Cortez Maduro
'A lot of the policies that we have put in place has kind of helped lead the devastation in Venezuela and we have sort of set the stage for where we are arriving today,' Omar said. 'This particular bullying and the use of sanctions to eventually intervene and make regime change really does not help the people of countries like Venezuela and it certainly does not help and is not in the interest of the United States.'
Ocasio-Cortez recently had a fiery exchange with White House Counselor Kellyanne Conway, who called out the freshman congresswoman's 'silence' in the immediate aftermath of the terrorist attacks in Sri Lanka on Easter Sunday.