The United States embassy in Venezuela on Friday applauded the decision by Venezuelan opposition candidate María Corina Machado and other leaders to appeal decisions that left them ineligible to the country’s highest court.
The announcement, within the deadline set out in a joint agreement between the government party and the opposition, would mark a change by Machado, who said Thursday that she would not appeal because she had never been notified of the ban.
Machado, as well as other opposition figures, such as Henrique Capriles and Freddy Superlano, were banned from holding public office, which they consider unfair measures by the Comptroller General of the Republic.
“We applaud María Corina Machado and the other candidates for their courage and willingness to appeal against their impediments,” said the US embassy in Venezuela on X, formerly Twitter. “It is now up to Nicolás Maduro’s representatives to demonstrate their commitment to competitive and inclusive elections,” she added.
The opposition candidate said Thursday that she would not go to the country’s highest court because she was not notified of the proceedings, adding that “we all know that legal lapses are established by law, not established by the regime.”
The appeal process at the Venezuelan Supreme Court of Justice was open until December 15, as agreed last month between the opposition and the government of Nicolás Maduro.
Machado and the other opponents prevented from running did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The US Embassy did not respond to a request for comment.
By Vivian Sequera, Mayela Armas and Deisy Buitrago