<h6><strong>Eduardo González</strong></h6> <h4><strong>The Venezuelan Minister of Foreign Affairs, Yván Gil, announced on Thursday afternoon his decision to recall his ambassador in Madrid, Gladys Gutiérrez, for consultations and to summon the Spanish ambassador in Caracas, Ramón Santos, as a response to what he describes as "insolent, interventionist and rude" statements by the Spanish Minister of Defense, Margarita Robles, who referred to the Government of Nicolás Maduro as a "dictatorship."</strong></h4> Yesterday, Robles, in her speech during the presentation of Julia Navarro's novel 'The boy who lost the war', which was also attended by, among others, the former president of the Government Felipe González, the minister sent a "remind to the men and women of Venezuela who have had to leave their country, precisely because of the dictatorship they live in." In a message on Facebook, Yván Gil said: "The Government of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, in the face of the insolent, interventionist and rude statements by the Spanish minister Margarita Robles, which point to a deterioration in relations between the two countries, has decided to call the Venezuelan ambassador accredited to the Kingdom of Spain, Gladys Gutiérrez, for consultations." He also indicated that the Spanish ambassador in Caracas, Ramón Santos, must appear this Friday at the headquarters of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The Spanish Minister of Foreign Affairs, <strong>José Manuel Albares</strong>, expressed this morning in statements to Spanish National Radio his respect for the "sovereign decision" of Venezuela and <strong>avoided calling the Maduro Government a "dictatorship."</strong> After explaining that since he is neither a "professor of constitutional law" nor "a political scientist," but rather a Minister of Foreign Affairs, he is "the last person" who should use "any kind of qualifications," especially from "a sister country." The day before, the president of the Venezuelan National Assembly, Jorge Rodríguez, had urged the legislative chamber to approve a resolution calling for the breaking of diplomatic relations with Spain, after the Congress of Deputies asked the Spanish Executive to recognize Edmundo González as the winner of the elections of July 28. The decision of the Maduro Government also comes after yesterday <strong>the President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, received the Venezuelan opposition candidate Edmundo González Urrutia</strong> at the Moncloa Complex, one day after the resolution approved by the Lower House and the Cabinet made it clear again that it has no intention of doing so at the moment. “I warmly welcome Edmundo González to our country, whom we welcome by showing Spain's humanitarian commitment and solidarity with the Venezuelans,” Sánchez said in a message on the social network X, which he accompanied with some images in which the two are seen walking through the Moncloa gardens and talking. “Spain continues to work in favour of democracy, dialogue and the fundamental rights of the brotherly people of Venezuela,” said the President of the Government, who, the day before, had expressed his desire to maintain “the unity of the European Union” with regard to Venezuela, in order to “allow us to have room for mediation between now and the end of the year so that we can find a solution that conveys the democratic will expressed at the polls by the Venezuelan people.” The meeting in Moncloa, which was not included in the official agenda but was announced by Sánchez himself earlier this week during his official visit to China, took place five days after González landed in Madrid on a Spanish Air Force plane after leaving Venezuela of his own free will and with the intention of requesting asylum in our country. The Government has assured that the arrival of González to Spain, who spent a few days at the residence of the Spanish ambassador after remaining a refugee since June 29 in the Embassy of the Netherlands, has not been negotiated with Caracas and that there has been no compensation. In this sense, both Sánchez and the Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares, have stressed that Spain's position has not changed and involves demanding the publication of all the minutes of the presidential elections of July 28 and not recognizing the "supposed victory" of Nicolás Maduro. <h5><strong>Edmundo thanks Sánchez for his welcome and Congress for recognizing his victory</strong></h5> In a statement issued after the meeting with Sánchez, Edmundo González said that he had had “a very pleasant and interesting conversation” with the President of the Government, whom he thanked for his welcome in Spain and conveyed his “recognition for his interest in working for the recovery of democracy and respect for Human Rights in our country.” During the interview, the statement continued, Edmundo González expressed to Sánchez his “determination to continue the fight to enforce the sovereign will of the Venezuelan people expressed on July 28 by more than eight million voters.” Later, González issued a second statement in which he ratified his “gratitude to the people and the Government of Spain” for having received him “in these difficult hours that Venezuela is going through” and thanked Pedro Sánchez, with whom he had “a pleasant and productive meeting in La Moncloa” in which both spoke about “the difficult situation that Venezuela is experiencing and the need to work together for a transition to democracy.” “I thank all the Spanish political forces that are actively fighting for the recognition of the sovereign will of the Venezuelan people, expressed at the voting tables on July 28,” he continued. “My gratitude to the Congress of Deputies for the recognition of my victory in the last Venezuelan elections,” added González, who concluded his statement by expressing his “commitment” to the mandate he has “received from the sovereign people of Venezuela.” “The approach to the struggle that María Corina Machado and I have led remains unwavering,” he said. “The fight is until the end, when I will finally take possession of the presidency on January 10 and all our families can meet on Venezuelan soil,” he concluded. The meeting took place one day after the Congress of Deputies approved, with the vote against of the PSOE and with the support of Vox, PNV, UPN and CC, a non-legislative proposal of the PP in which the Government is asked to recognize González Urrutia as the elected president of Venezuela. The Venezuelan National Assembly responded immediately by approving a resolution calling on President Nicolás Maduro to break diplomatic relations with Spain. The Government has defended itself by saying that the position of the Twenty-Seven is not to do so for now and has argued that there is a "reasonable time" to achieve a negotiated solution before January 10, when the winner of the elections must take office. <h5><strong>Motion in the Senate</strong></h5> Despite this threat, and in the same vein as in Congress, the PP registered a motion yesterday in the Senate - where it has a majority - in which it asks the Government to recognize Edmundo González as the legitimate president of Venezuela. The proposal will be debated and voted on at the next plenary session, between Tuesday 17 and Wednesday 18 September, and also urges the Government to request Maduro to “give way to a process of transfer of powers” and to request from the International Criminal Court an arrest warrant against the Venezuelan president and other suspects of having committed crimes against humanity. In the statement of reasons, the PP points out that “offering political asylum to Edmundo González Urrutia is a measure that no one disputes as such”, but it is not enough to overcome the current situation that Venezuela is going through. “Instead of processing asylum for the one who won the elections, in any case it should be done for the one who lost and refuses to give up power (Maduro), if that were part of a negotiation so that the transfer of powers is definitively addressed as decided by the Venezuelans at the polls”, the text continues. The PP also asks the Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares, not to continue “playing the role of a secondary actor, lacking a strategy, while the main role is played by a figure so closely linked to the regime of Nicolás Maduro as the former president José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, whose position towards the regime is understood by very few, both in Europe and in Latin America”. On the other hand, the full European Parliament will debate and vote next week on a proposal for a resolution (not binding but which could serve to put pressure on the European Council) by the European People’s Group in which it also asks for the recognition of the victory of Edmundo González. The same parliamentary group has requested, through the Foreign Affairs Committee of the European Parliament, the appearance of the former president Zapatero to speak about Venezuela. Also, more than 40 Countries, including Spain, launched a joint message to demand an "inclusive process" in Venezuela that would allow "the democratic regime to be reestablished" and to reiterate their "deep concern" about the persecution of the opponent Edmundo González Urrutia, "which has forced him into exile." The European Union also signed the text, along with countries such as the United States, Argentina, the Netherlands, France and Chile, again calling for the "immediate" publication of the complete minutes of the elections of July 28. The declaration, prepared in the last few hours at the United Nations and read by the Panamanian foreign minister, Javier Martínez-Acha, was notably absent, such as Mexico, Colombia or Brazil, and was not signed by major powers such as China or Russia or any African or Arab state, except Morocco.
