The Diplomat
The President of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro, received this past Monday former Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero at the Miraflores Palace, in Caracas, according to the president himself.
“Pleasant visit of the former Prime Minister of Spain, José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, whom we thank for his support to the dialogue and understanding undertaken with the different sectors in our country. Welcome to Venezuela!”, declared Maduro through his Twitter account, in which he published several photos of the meeting.
According to the state channel Venezolana de Televisión (VTV), which was the first media to report on the meeting, although without providing details on the reason or content, he recalled that Zapatero, who was visiting the country to fulfill “different commitments and with an arduous work agenda”, has played a “preponderant role” in the “process of mediation of the dialogue in the country” between the Government and the opposition.
Also present at the meeting were the Executive Vice President, Delcy Rodríguez; the President of the National Assembly (NA, Parliament), Jorge Rodríguez, and the First Lady, Cilia Flores. Shortly before this meeting, Zapatero participated in a forum in which he celebrated the beginning of talks between the United States and Venezuela and expressed his support for the participation of Caracas in the peace talks between the Government of Colombia and the National Liberation Army (ELN), according to the Venezuelan Executive in a statement.
