Margallo points Maduro is trying to “distort the results of a peaceful day on which the citizens of Venezuela expressed themselves freely and democratically”./ Photo: Joka Madruga
The Diplomat. Madrid
The Spanish Government wants the European Union to pronounce on the political crisis being experienced in Venezuela. The Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel García-Margallo, has sent a letter to the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security, Federica Mogherini, in which he requests that the issue should be included in the order of the day of the European Council on Foreign Relations meeting on Monday 18 January.
The action by García-Margallo arose from the Government of Nicolás Maduro making several manoeuvres to “distort” -according to the Minister in his letter- the results of a peaceful day on which the citizens of Venezuela expressed themselves freely and democratically”, in reference to the parliamentary elections held on 6 December 2015 and which were a resounding triumph for the forces opposing chavismo.
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The Minister wrote to Mogherini so that the foreign ministers could discuss it on Monday
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The Spanish Minister who, prior to the elections taking place, had insisted that all parties should accept the results of the voting, considers that in view of the delicate situation being experienced by Venezuela, the European Union must demonstrate its firm commitment to democracy in this country, home to some 400.000 Spaniards.
Concurrently, according to the El País newspaper, the Spanish President, Mariano Rajoy, sent a letter to the Venezuelan Secretary-General of the Democratic Unity Roundtable, Jesús Torrealba, in which he expressed his support, in respect of the “obstacles and subterfuges” which are being put under way to restrict the powers of the new Venezuelan National Assembly.
