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INSIGHTi
Venezuela’s 2024 Presidential Election
May 1, 2024
On July 28, 2024, Venezuela is scheduled to hold a presidential election, which could be a step toward
restoring the country’s democracy after a decade of increasingly authoritarian rule. There is widespread
concern, however, that the Venezuelan government is creating electoral conditions that do not meet
democratic standards, including those it pledged to uphold in the Barbados Agreement (hereinafter, the
Agreement) between President Nicolás Maduro and Venezuela’s main opposition alliance, the Unitary
Platform, signed on October 17, 2023. The Maduro government has violated several of its Barbados
Agreement pledges, including barring María Corina Machado, who won an opposition-run primary with
93% of the vote, from participating in the general election and engaging in increasing repression.
The 118th Congress is closely monitoring Venezuela’s electoral process and U.S. policy responses. Some
Members welcomed the Biden Administration’s decision to ease sanctions in response to the Barbados
Agreement, and others have expressed support for the Administration’s decision to reimpose oil and gas
sanctions on Venezuela in response to violations of the Agreement. Some Members have urged the
Administration to impose additional targeted sanctions on those engaged in repression of the opposition
and/or pushed for broader U.S. and international sanctions and law enforcement actions against Maduro,
indicted in 2020, and his allies.
Barbados Agreement and Electoral Context
The Barbados Agreement was the result of over two years of Norway-led negotiations between the
Maduro government and the opposition. The final deal included commitments related to the timing and
conduct of the election, access to media during the campaign, reform of the country’s voter registry, and
candidate security. The Maduro government has violated several of the Agreement’s key provisions (see
Figure 1) while minimally satisfying others. The government has followed through on commitments to
set an electoral calendar and invite international observers but has imposed restrictions on the political
opposition and created roadblocks to their full participation in the election. On March 5, 2024, the
Maduro government announced the presidential election would occur on July 28, providing the
opposition four days to register their candidates and the Venezuelan electorate less than a month to
register to vote. The opposition was unable to register its chosen nominee, Machado, due to a January
2024 Venezuelan supreme court ruling that upheld a June 2023 ruling barring her from running for office
for 15 years due to alleged fraud and tax violations. Venezuela’s National Electoral Council also banned
some parties from submitting presidential candidates.
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Given Machado’s inability to run, she endorsed Corina Yoris, a philosophy professor, as her substitute.
Yoris, however, was prevented from registering as the Mesa de la Unidad Democrática candidate by an
alleged glitch on the electoral authority’s website; the party later successfully registered former diplomat
Edmundo González.
In addition to restricting the opposition’s ability to select its candidates, the Maduro government has
continued to limit political and civic activity in Venezuela. It has arrested opposition campaign staffers
and human rights defenders and expelled the staff of the U.N. Office of the High Commissioner for
Human Rights (OHCHR). In April 2024, Venezuela’s Maduro-aligned National Assembly gave
preliminary approval to a bill referred to as “the law against fascism” that would ban statements that
could be interpreted as advocating for violent political action. Some critics argue the new law could be
used broadly to silence those expressing dissatisfaction with Maduro’s government. On April 23, Maduro
announced he is prepared to once again receive the OHCHR in Venezuela.
Figure 1. Selected Barbados Agreement Pledges Violated Since October 2023
Sources: Barbados Agreement, Associated Press, El País.
U.S. Policy
U.S. policy in Venezuela aims to support free and fair elections leading to a return to democracy. For
much of the past decade, U.S. policy has sought to achieve those ends through sanctions and efforts to
diplomatically isolate Maduro. The Biden Administration has supported Maduro-opposition negotiations,
however, including those that led to the Barbados Agreement, since the Venezuelan opposition decided to
enter the 2024 presidential elections despite the difficult electoral conditions. As part of those efforts to
support negotiations and incentivize electoral changes, the Administration has negotiated with Maduro
officials; provided relief from U.S. sanctions, including six-month general licenses allowing transactions
with Venezuela’s gold and hydrocarbons sectors; engaged in prisoner swaps; and reportedly urged other
countries to push Maduro to comply with the Agreement.
The Administration has partially reversed course in response to Maduro’s violations of the Agreement. In
January 2024, the Biden Administration revoked the gold sector general license after Venezuela’s supreme
court upheld the ban on Machado’s candidacy. On April 18, the Administration did not renew the oil
sector general license, citing the Maduro government’s continued “disqualification of candidates and
parties” and “harassment and repression” of the opposition and civil society. The Administration has
continued to permit companies to seek specific licenses to work in Venezuela that are authorized on a
case-by-case basis. In addition to pushing for compliance with the Agreement, including by supporting
the deployment of international observers to accompany the electoral process, it is unclear what further
steps the Administration may take to ensure this election is freer and fairer than the discredited elections
held in 2018.
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Congressional Considerations
In addition to conducting oversight of the Administration’s efforts to compel democratic reforms,
Congress may consider legislative measures to address the political situation in Venezuela. Congress
enacted the Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 2024
(P.L. 118-47, Division F), which allocates $50 million for democracy programs in Venezuela but
withholds 50% of the assistance until the State Department reports certain elections-related conditions are
met. Bills to reauthorize targeted sanctions on individuals who engage in corruption, human rights abuses,
and/or antidemocratic actions under the Venezuela Emergency Relief, Democracy Assistance, and
Development (VERDAD) Act (P.L. 116-94, Division J), which expired in December 2023, have been
ordered to be reported in the House (H.R. 6831) and introduced in the Senate (S. 3363). Congress also
could consider other bills to authorize various sanctions (e.g., S. 995, H.R. 5670) or resolutions calling for
free and fair elections and supporting Machado (e.g., H.Res. 911, S.Res. 486).
Author Information
Leticia Chacon
Clare Ribando Seelke
Analyst in Foreign Affairs
Specialist in Latin American Affairs
Disclaimer
This document was prepared by the Congressional Research Service (CRS). CRS serves as nonpartisan shared staff
to congressional committees and Members of Congress. It operates solely at the behest of and under the direction of
Congress. Information in a CRS Report should not be relied upon for purposes other than public understanding of
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