Armando G. Tejeda
Correspondent
The newspaper La Jornada
Saturday, September 14, 2024, p. 21
Madrid. José Manuel Albares, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Spain, referred to the decision of the government of Nicolás Maduro to summon the Spanish ambassador in Caracas and call for consultations with his diplomatic representative in Madrid, pointing out that These are sovereign issues, we work to have the best relations with Venezuela, with which we feel very close like the rest of the countries in Latin America..
The origin of this diplomatic crisis is the approval in the Congress of Deputies of a non-law proposal in which the Spanish Executive, chaired by the socialist Pedro Sánchez, is urged to recognize the right-wing Venezuelan opposition leader Edmundo González Urrutia, who has been in asylum in Madrid since last Monday, as the legitimate president from Venezuela and winner of the presidential elections last July 28.
Albares’ attempt to ease tensions contrasted with the meetings at the Moncloa Palace between González Urrutia and two former Spanish presidents: the socialist Felipe González and the conservative Mariano Rajoy, who gave him the same recognition.
Dispute
The escalation continued after the meeting, and what ended up angering the Maduro government was that the Minister of Defense, Margarita Robles, during the unofficial presentation of a book, sympathized with the Venezuelan exiles and called the government a dictatorship.
Albares insisted that Venezuela is a brother country and that the Spanish government work to have the best relationships. Furthermore, when asked if he shared Robles’ opinion, he said: I am not a political scientistand urged the Popular Party and the right to recognize that Francoism Yes, it was a dictatorship.
Albares did not hide his discomfort regarding the crisis with Venezuela, especially since the Executive has been working cautiously since it decided to grant political asylum to González Urrutia, thanks to the mediation of former President José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero.
He confirmed that they do not plan to take any specific measures following the recall of the ambassador of the South American country.
Venezuelan Foreign Minister Yván Gil warned the Spanish ambassador in Caracas, Ramón Santos, that he will not allow any interventionist action.
Venezuelan ambassador to Madrid, Gladys Gutiérrez, has left Spain after being recalled for consultations, Europa Press reported.
