US Patience ‘Running Out’ on Venezuela Vote as Sanctions Weighed

(Bloomberg) -- The US and other nations are “running out of patience” with Venezuela over the release of detailed voting data, Biden administration officials said Wednesday, as pressure grows on authorities in Caracas to prove the victory claimed by Nicolas Maduro.

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“I want to note that our patience, and that of the international community, is running out,” said White House spokesman John Kirby. “It’s running out on waiting for the Venezuelan electoral authorities to come clean and release the full detailed data on this election.”

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US officials said earlier this week that they would consider Maduro’s transparency in releasing voting data when considering future sanctions. Although the country’s electoral authority said Maduro defeated rival Edmundo González, an exit poll conducted by US firm Edison Research had González winning by more than 30 percentage points

“There is a clear action that the Venezuelan electoral commission can take — and that is a full, detailed publication of this election data,” State Department spokesman Vedant Patel said earlier Wednesday.

The international community has criticized Maduro for barring many candidates from running, including former lawmaker and opposition leader Maria Corina Machado, whose party claimed its candidate Edmundo González won the election.

--With assistance from Eric Martin.

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