Gov. Ron DeSantis criticized Venezuela’s presidential election, calling it flawed and advocating for increased sanctions against the nation, while condemning the Biden administration’s approach.

Gov. Ron DeSantis criticized the Venezuelan presidential election that was held on Sunday, calling the process flawed and advocating for increased pressure on the nation.

Speaking at a press conference on Monday morning, DeSantis described the election as a “total sham” and argued that the current U.S. policy towards Venezuela is ineffective. The election saw incumbent President Nicolas Maduro declared the winner with 51.2 percent of the vote, while opposition candidate Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia received 44.2 percent. The electoral authority, controlled by Maduro loyalists, did not release detailed results from the 30,000 polling stations, prompting allegations of fraud from the opposition.

DeSantis condemned the strategy of easing sanctions on the Maduro regime, suggesting that it failed to promote a free and fair election.

“We saw an “election” take place in Venezuela, and it was this idea that [the] Biden-Harris [administration] had, that you come in and you relax pressure and sanctions on the Maduro regime that somehow that regime would respond by supporting a free and fair election,” DeSantis said. “Well, that crashed and burned.”

He emphasized the need for a tougher approach, arguing that tightening sanctions and cutting off resources is the only effective way to deal with Maduro’s government.

“That theory should never have been tried,” DeSantis continued. “The way you deal with somebody like Maduro is you tighten the pressure, you make sure to choke off their resources, but what happened was a total Sham. There’s a lot of people that went out that wanted their voice heard, that want to see a new direction for Venezuela, and that didn’t happen because you have a corrupt regime, and this is a corrupt regime that’s been empowered by Biden and Harris”

While the Biden administration has maintained and, in some cases, expanded existing sanctions aimed at pressuring the Maduro regime, it has also expressed a willingness to consider easing sanctions under certain conditions, according to the Wall Street Journal and the Council on Foreign Relations.

Ahead of the election, Sen. Rick Scott called on the Biden Administration to reimpose sanctions on Maduro’s Venezuela, criticizing the administration for lifting sanctions without securing democratic guarantees.

“If given the opportunity for a truly fair and free election, I believe the people of Venezuela will choose to vote for the future of their country and reject the murderous dictator Nicolás Maduro,” said Scott. “President Biden and Vice President Harris have shown nothing but weakness and appeasement toward Maduro and that has fueled his oppression of the Venezuelan people. The Biden-Harris administration must immediately reimpose the sanctions it lifted without any assurances from this murderous regime, and call on Maduro to allow a peaceful transfer of power when a true leader is chosen.”

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken expressed doubts about the fairness of the vote, a view shared by the European Union and several Latin American countries, including Costa Rica, Peru, Chile, and Uruguay. Meanwhile, Maduro received support from allies in Bolivia, Honduras, Cuba, and China.