Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) on Friday condemned newly sworn in Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, saying that the late Hugo Chavez’s chosen successor’s rise to power is a violation of the country’s own constitution. Rubio then called on the Obama administration to “immediately condemn this unconstitutional act and urge our democratic partners in the Western Hemisphere to do the same.”
“Venezuela’s own constitution specifies that the head of the legislature, not the vice president, should become interim president following the president’s death and that elections for a new president must be called within 30 days. It does not bode well that the first act of this new leadership is to ignore their own constitution. The democratic nations of the Western Hemisphere should condemn this flagrant violation of the constitutional order.
“The Obama Administration should immediately condemn this unconstitutional act and urge our democratic partners in the Western Hemisphere to do the same. In protest, we should cancel plans to send an official U.S. delegation to Venezuela. This is the least we can do to call attention to the disdain some Venezuelan officials have demonstrated towards their own constitutional order.”
Following Chavez’s death on Tuesday, Obama issued a statement to say the U.S. “reaffirms its support for the Venezuelan people.”
