A senior US State Department official says Maduro’s moves toward the 2024 elections are “in the wrong direction.”

(CNN Spanish) — “The United States took a ‘calculated risk’ in negotiations with the government of Venezuela, but has concluded that the status quo in Venezuela is bad for the US, good for our adversaries and will not advance the cause of democracy,” it said Thursday. US Under Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs, Brian A. Nichols, who added that the Maduro government is taking steps in the “wrong direction.”

Nichols made the remarks at a forum organized by the Americas Society/Council of the Americas (ASCOA) think tank in Washington. “Maduro’s refusal to restore the political rights of candidates like María Corina Machado, the winner of the opposition primaries, and the harassment and imprisonment of many of his supporters are steps in the wrong direction,” the undersecretary said.

The senior official added that “Despite these recent developments and actions, we remain committed to supporting Venezuela’s democratic progress and, together with members of the international community, to insist on the right of the Venezuelan opposition to choose its candidate. The Venezuelan people will elect their next president.”

In January, Venezuela’s Supreme Court closed Machado’s options to continue as a presidential candidate, upholding a 15-year disqualification that the Comptroller General’s Office had imposed on him in June 2023 for allegedly not including a paternity oath in the declaration. Payment of food bonus.

The leader denies the allegations and maintains that the decision is illegal. Machado established himself as the sole opposition candidate by winning the opposition primaries in October with 92.93% of the vote.

The National Electoral Council announced the date of the presidential election for July 28 this Tuesday. Holding presidential elections in late 2024 is part of the Barbados agreement the Maduro government and the opposition signed last October.

Machado responded to the National Electoral Council’s declaration that Maduro intended to “disregard” the rights of Venezuelans and disqualify him, a decision he considered unfair.

The Venezuelan government has not commented on Nicholls’ statements. CNN has attempted to contact Venezuela’s foreign ministry to inquire about its status, but there has been no response at this time.