WASHINGTON: The United States said Monday that Venezuela's regional elections were not free and fair, and vowed to keep up pressure on leftist leader Nicolas Maduro, whom Washington considers illegitimate.
Maduro's forces were said to have won a landslide victory in Sunday's election, which saw the return of opposition parties to the ballot for the first time since 2017.
But US Secretary of State Antony Blinken pointed to detentions of political leaders, bans on opposition candidates, media censorship and manipulation of voter registration.
"Fearful of the voice and vote of Venezuelans, the regime grossly skewed the process to determine the result of this election long before any ballots had been cast," Blinken said in a statement.
"Maduro robs Venezuelans of their chance to shape their own future," he said.
"We call on the Maduro regime to cease its repression and allow Venezuelans to live in the peaceful, stable and democratic country they deserve and have long sought."
Blinken reiterated US support for opposition leader Juan Guaido, whom the United States considers to be the interim president after questioning the legitimacy of Maduro's last election.
European Union observers returned to the country after a 15-year absence and will present a report on Tuesday.
Weakened and fragmented, the opposition was only able to win in three states, although this significantly included oil-rich Zulia, the most populated region in the country whose capital Maracaibo is Venezuela's second-largest city.
US calls Venezuela elections ‘grossly skewed’
https://arab.news/wvhp7
US calls Venezuela elections ‘grossly skewed’
EU proposes suspending a duty-free sugar import scheme
- The IPR scheme allows companies to import sugar at zero duty and without limits
- White sugar imports under the IPR totalled 155,000 tons in 2024/25, up 5 percent year-on-year
PARIS: The European Commission proposed suspending a scheme allowing some duty-free sugar imports into the bloc, aiming to ease pressure on European producers facing falling prices and increased competition.
“I will propose a temporary suspension of the sugar inward processing regime to ease pressures on sugar producers,” European Commissioner for Agriculture and Food Christophe Hansen said on X late on Monday.
The IPR scheme allows companies to import sugar at zero duty and without limits, provided the sugar is refined or processed into food products and then re-exported outside the European Union.
Raw sugar imported into the EU under the IPR in the 2024/25 marketing year totalled 587,000 metric tons, up 19 percent on the previous year, of which 95 percent came from Brazil, European Commission data showed.
White sugar imports under the IPR totalled 155,000 tons in 2024/25, up 5 percent year-on-year, of which 43 percent came from Brazil, followed by Morocco, Egypt and Ukraine, the data showed.
European sugar beet producers have raised concerns about unfair competition and the potential impact of a trade deal with the Mercosur bloc of South American countries which includes a larger sugar quota.
Producers say imports have contributed to a supply glut that led EU sugar prices to slump to their lowest in at least three years.
The European sugar beet growers lobby CIBE expressed strong support for the decision, calling it timely and necessary.
“It will provide the right signal and some relief on a very depressed EU sugar market,” the group said on X.
