House Democrats want Biden to change his approach to Venezuela

June 30, 20234:57 PM ET

Rep. Joaquin Castro of Texas talks about the letter he and other House Democrats sent to the Biden administration urging an easing of sanctions on Venezuela.

ARI SHAPIRO, HOST:

President Joe Biden is under pressure from members of his own party to change his approach to Venezuela. A group of House Democrats sent Biden a letter last week saying, in effect, sanctions are hurting Venezuelan people more than the government of Nicolas Maduro, and it's time to change course. Congressman Joaquin Castro of Texas serves on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, and he was one of the letter's authors. Welcome to ALL THINGS CONSIDERED.

JOAQUIN CASTRO: Hi. Great to be with you.

SHAPIRO: Sanctions have been in place against Venezuela for a few years now. So what made you and the others who signed this letter think now is the moment to let up sanctions?

CASTRO: Well, I think we've got to keep in mind what our goal is with sanctions. Any time we're sanctioning leaders in a country or sectors in a country, what we want to see for Venezuela is freedom, democracy and opportunity for the people. And even with these very heavy sanctions that were put in place by the Trump administration, that has not happened, and Maduro is still in power. And there are millions of Venezuelans who are living in destitution and poverty, who are giving up hope, and millions who are also fleeing the country, including tens of thousands, if not more, to the United States.

SHAPIRO: The balancing act that you're describing between the pressure on civilians and pressure on the government is one that comes up all the time in debates about sanctions. I mean, Afghanistan is a very similar example. What do you think makes Venezuela different from some of these other cases?

CASTRO: No, you're right. You know, I don't think it's one of those things where you can say we 100% know how this is going to turn out. There were folks that were convinced, for example, that with the sanctions and with Guaido making his move in Venezuela...

More:
https://www.npr.org/2023/06/30/1185520474/house-democrats-want-biden-to-change-his-approach-to-venezuela