Governor Ron DeSantis blasted the Biden administration for conversations with leaders of Venezuela, as reports detail Biden is considering purchasing oil from the South American country.

The U.S. is looking to ease the impact of the decision to ban the purchase of Russian oil and has turned to countries like Venezuela and Iran—instead of producing energy in America.

“Many Americans and a lot of Floridians are very angered by the Biden administration‘s recent attempts to legitimize the brutal Maduro regime in Venezuela,” said Governor Ron DeSantis. “This is part of a familiar pattern of the Biden administration thumbing its nose at millions of people here in Florida, just like when it took FARC off the terrorism list and didn’t lift a finger to help the democracy protesters in Cuba. Now, Biden is going hat in hand to legitimize Nicolas Maduro, who is responsible for countless atrocities and has driven Venezuela into the ground.”

Furthermore, Venezuela, which is closely aligned with Russia, is reported to have committed multiple human rights violations under leader Nicolás Maduro. According to the United Nations Human Rights Council, his regime is “responsible for extrajudicial executions and short-term forced disappearances and have jailed opponents, prosecuted civilians in military courts, tortured detainees, and cracked down on protesters.”

Former President Trump recognized Juan Guaido as the Interim President of Venezuela.

“The United States should be energy independent, but instead gas prices have been going up consistently since January 20, 2021. Now we’re in a situation where people are really hurting and rather than acknowledge that their policies have been ineffective, they’re going to Maduro and they’re going to the ayatollahs in Iran. The answer is American energy independence, not propping up Nicolas Maduro. We’re saying here today: No, we do not accept Joe Biden legitimizing a murderous tyrant and we stand with the people in South Florida and the people in Venezuela who are seeking freedom,” DeSantis added.

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Cooper Moran is a reporter for The Florida Capital Star and The Star News Network. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Ron DeSantis” by Gage Skidmore. CC BY-SA 2.0. Photo “Joe Biden” by Gage Skidmore. CC BY-SA 2.0. Background Photo “Nicolás Maduro” by Cubadebate. CC BY-NC-SA 2.0.