Justin Story, a Republican candidate running for Florida’s 9th Congressional District, issued a blistering demand today for the restoration of democratic order in Venezuela. Targeting the current communist administration under Acting President Delcy Rodríguez, Story warned that the country remains a “tyranny with a new figurehead” despite the removal of former leader Nicolás Maduro.
The candidate, whose wife Maria fled the Maduro regime as a refugee, frames the struggle in deeply personal terms. Story argued that the international community has not finished the job, claiming that while the top leadership was ousted, the underlying structure of the regime remains intact.
“We must honor the high-stakes, high-reward military operation that removed Maduro by delivering a permanent solution,” Story stated. “We took Ali Baba, but left his 40 thieves.”
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The Florida Republican expressed concern that Rodríguez is currently stalling for time to consolidate power with hand-picked loyalists. He pointed to a pattern of ongoing human rights abuses, including random police searches, extortion, and the continued detention of hundreds of political prisoners.
Story also condemned recent reports that Rodríguez asked the National Assembly to expropriate the property of exiles who fled the country.
“Most of these exiles cannot safely return home without facing arrest or imprisonment simply for the act of leaving,” Story said. “To now seize their hard-earned property is an outrageous act of theft that further punishes the victims of this failed socialist experiment.”
As American Airlines prepares to resume direct flights from Miami to Caracas on April 30, Story issued a specific warning to travelers. He cautioned that tourists risk entering a “trap” where they could face kidnapping or ransom demands by a regime desperate for leverage and cash.
Rather than offering political concessions, Story is calling for “Nuremberg-style trials” to address crimes against humanity. He argued that the U.S. must push for immediate, internationally monitored elections rather than accepting a slow transition that allows the current regime to entrench itself.
“The Venezuelan people deserve a real choice in free elections — not another chapter of authoritarian rule dressed up as a transition,” Story concluded. He pledged that, if elected to represent his district’s significant Venezuelan-American population, he will make human rights and property rights the cornerstone of U.S.-Venezuela policy.
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