Florida Democrats are denouncing Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders for refusing to call Venezuelan strongman Nicolas Maduro a dictator — a politically explosive issue in the nation’s biggest swing state.

Sanders also would not say whether he considered Venezuela’s assembly leader, Juan Guaidó, as the nation’s interim president, which is the position of the United States and a majority of Latin American countries and European countries.


Both of Sanders’ positions play into the hands of President Trump and the GOP, say Democrats. The president just held a rally in Miami on Monday to denounce Maduro and socialism, an appeal to the state’s growing block of Venezuelan-American voters. Many Venezuelans have flocked to the state as the country’s economy crashed and repression increased.

Democrats, already alarmed that Trump’s inroads with Venezuelans could help him peel off an otherwise-reliable Democratic voting bloc in a toss-up state, were quick to denounce Sanders’ comments.

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“He is not going to be the nominee of the Democratic Party. He has demonstrated again that he does not understand this situation,” Rep. Donna Shalala, a Miami Democrat who represents Venezuelan exiles and, told POLITICO. “I absolutely disagree with his imprecision in not saying Maduro must go.” Shalala has filed legislation aimed at helping Venezuelan immigrants.

The emerging issue hasn’t yet spilled into the broader Democratic primary for president. Most candidates haven’t weighed in, some by choice.


Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand of New York and former Vice President Joe Biden, however, have clearly stated they consider Maduro a dictator and Guaidó the legitimate leader of Venezuela. And Sen. Elizabeth Warren told Pod Save America that she believed Maduro was a dictator and suggested she supported the “diplomatic part” of Trump’s backing of Guaidó, though she faulted him for too much “saber rattling.”

One Democratic Hispanic consultant said the remarks will cause a needless “frenzy” in South Florida’s Hispanic community.

Sanders did not embrace Maduro in his Tuesday interview with Univision’s Jorge Ramos, who quickly touched on Guaidó being declared the interim president of Venezuela by the nation’s National Assembly following Maduro’s questionable election.

But when he was asked whether he recognized Guaidó as the legitimate leader of the country, Sanders answered, “No.”


"There are serious questions about the recent election. There are many people who feel it was a fraudulent election," Sanders added.

In a follow-up question, Ramos asked Sanders if he thought Maduro is a dictator who should step down. Sanders refused to say yes or no.

"I think clearly he has been very, very abusive,” Sanders replied. “That is a decision of the Venezuelan people, so I think, Jorge, there's got to be a free and fair election. But what must not happen is that the United States must not use military force and intervene again as it has done in the past in Latin America, as you recall, whether it was Chile or Brazil or the Dominican Republic or Guatemala.”

Sanders also said that he believes “the United States has got to work with the international community to make sure that there is a free and fair election in Venezuela.”

That comment puzzled Shalala. “I do agree the international comm needs to come together and the U.S. needs to work with the international community," she said. "But that’s been happening.”

After Shalala posted her disagreement with Sanders on Twitter, the Vermont senator’s deputy chief of staff, Ari Rabin-Havt, replied to her that “this view represents the long and horrific history of American politicians imposing their will on the people of Latin America. Bernie stands with the Venezuelan people to demand free and fair elections and for self-determination for all people around the world.”

Rabin-Havt also noted Sanders has condemned Maduro.

The United States was the first to recognize Guaidó as Venezuela’s leader last month. About 64 other nations have followed. However, the United Nations still recognizes Maduro, though it has called for talks, as roughly 50 countries side with him — including U.S. foes Cuba, China, Iran, Nicaragua, North Korea, Russia and Syria.


Sanders has long had sympathy for leftist governments. Once a self-described socialist — he now uses the term "democratic socialist" — Sanders has spoken favorably in the past about socialist and communist strongmen. Cuban dictator Fidel Castro, Sanders once said, wasn't "perfect" but "totally transformed" the country. And Nicaragua’s leftist leader, Daniel Ortega, was "an impressive guy," Sanders argued.

Over the decades, Miami has become a home for exiles from some of those leftist governments, with Cuban-Americans leading the way and leaning strongly Republican. Venezuelans and Nicaraguans tend to vote Democratic once they become U.S. citizens and register to vote in Florida.

But Democratic consultants and community leaders say there’s evidence that could change and that the GOP’s anti-socialist messaging helped Republicans in 2018 and could help Trump in 2020.

Helena Poleo, a Democrat who’s a former journalist from Venezuela and is a Spanish-language commentator, called Sanders comments “disgusting. The Florida Democratic Party needs to denounce this now.”

The state party made its position on Maduro clear, without mentioning Sanders by name.

“Florida Democrats have been unequivocal: We recognize Juan Guaidó as the President of Venezuela, denounce the legitimacy of the Maduro regime and his efforts to remain illegally in power," the party said in a statement. Its comments echoed those of Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.), who represents one of the largest Venezuelan populations in the United States.

State Sen. Annette Taddeo, a Miami Democrat, said she was “dumbfounded” and believed Sanders wasn’t properly briefed.

“He’s obviously clueless,” Taddeo said.


“Seems the Senator has already written Florida off his presidential campaign strategy,” deadpanned Ric Herrero with the Cuba Study Group, which advocates for more engagement with Havana, an incidental ally of Caracas.

One of the state’s top Democratic consultants for Hispanic outreach, former state party political director Christian Ulvert, said he was disappointed with Sanders for making such “extremely ignorant” comments. Ulvert, who’s of Nicaraguan descent, said he found Sanders’ comments harmful on a personal level as did his husband, who’s from Venezuela and has relatives suffering under Maduro.

The day before Sanders’ comments aired on Al Punto, Ulvert had written to the Democratic National Committee chairman concerning the location of the party’s 2020 presidential convention and noted that Trump was trying to make inroads based on his anti-socialism message. Ulvert said “everyone in our party from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to Joe Biden have recognized Juan Guaidó as the acting leader of Venezuela and said Maduro must go,” and now Sanders is complicating that message.

“This helps Trump and it makes our job harder as Democrats,” Ulvert said. “What this will do is whip into a frenzy South Florida’s Hispanic community on both sides of the aisle. It’s an unnecessary distraction.”

