<h6><strong>The Diplomat</strong></h6> <h4><strong>The High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs, Josep Borrell, called Venezuela a "dictatorial and authoritarian regime", the same thing that the Minister of Defense, Margarita Robles, had done a few days earlier, which caused the current diplomatic crisis between Madrid and Caracas.</strong></h4> "In Venezuela there are more than 2,000 people arbitrarily detained after the elections. The opposition leader has had to flee. Political parties have been subjected to a thousand limitations on their actions. There are seven million Venezuelans who have fled their country. Well, what do you call all that?" argued Borrell in statements to <em>Telecinco.</em> Likewise, after indicating that we must not fool ourselves with the nature of things, he stated: "Venezuela has called elections, but it was not a democracy before and it is much less so after" In any case, the head of European diplomacy said that by saying that Venezuela is a dictatorial regime "we do not fix anything", and that fixing things sometimes requires "a certain verbal restraint". The Venezuelan Government has responded to Borrell, through its Minister of Foreign Affairs, <strong>Yvan Gil</strong>, calling him a <strong>"spokesman of evil"</strong> and being in "the garbage dump of history". In his <em>Telegram</em> account, Yvan Gil stated that the Spanish politician is going to have "a withdrawal from politics with his hands stained with blood, doubly failed in his attempts to harm the Venezuelan people, inventing fictitious governments (Guaidó 1.0 and 2.0) and above all turning the European Union into a decrepit, colonialist and warlike institution". The PP, for its part, took advantage of Borrell's words to increase its pressure on Pedro Sánchez's government to call Maduro's regime a dictatorship. And so, the deputy Cayetana Álvarez de Toledo wrote on her X account: "Come on, Sánchez. It's not that difficult. You can do it too. Or maybe not. A minimum moral clarity is enough." Alberto Núñez Feijóo's party will continue to demand that the government recognize Edmundo González Urrutia as the elected president of Venezuela. After getting the Congress of Deputies to urge the Executive to carry out this recognition, this week the Senate will also do so, where the Popular Party has an absolute majority. And tomorrow, Tuesday, the debate will reach the European Parliament, where the European Popular Group will also ask that Edmundo González be recognized "as the legitimate and democratically elected president of Venezuela" and María Corina Machado as the leader of the democratic forces in Venezuela. The text prepared by the EPP also urges EU countries to request an international arrest warrant "for crimes against humanity for all the serious violations of human rights that he has committed." Neither Spain nor the European Union have recognised the victory attributed to Nicolás Maduro as legitimate, as the electoral records that prove it have not been published, although they have not recognised González Urrutia as the legitimate winner of the Venezuelan elections either. <h5><strong>Spain's denial</strong></h5> Meanwhile, <strong>the Ministry of Foreign Affairs denied yesterday that Spain is involved in an operation to destabilize politically in Venezuela, as hinted yesterday by the Minister of the Interior of the Bolivarian regime, Diosdado Cabello, when reporting the arrest of two Spaniards accused of participating in plans to kill Nicolás Maduro.</strong> Official sources from the department headed by José Manuel Albares stated that "Spain denies and rejects outright any insinuation of being involved in an operation to destabilize politically in Venezuela." Furthermore, they assured that "The Government has confirmed that the detainees are not part of the CNI or any other state body." And they added: "Spain defends a democratic and peaceful solution to the situation in Venezuela." The Foreign Ministry's statements come after Spain also asked the Venezuelan government on Saturday for access to the Spaniards José María Basoa Valdovinos and Andrés Martínez Adasme, detained in that country, accused of preparing an attack against Nicolás Maduro and whom the Bolivarian regime links to the National Intelligence Center (CNI). Official sources from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs indicated that the Spanish Embassy in Caracas has sent a verbal note to the Venezuelan government "requesting access to the detainees, in order to verify their identities and nationality and, if verified, to know what exactly they are accused of and that they can receive all the necessary assistance." "The Embassy - the same sources added - will ensure at all times the protection and rights of any Spaniard detained in Venezuela." The same sources indicated that the Spanish Consulate in Caracas, the General Directorate of Consulates and the Minister's Office remain in "permanent contact" with the relatives of the two Spaniards. Meanwhile, the PP, through the deputy secretary of Mobilization and Digital Challenge of the PP, Noelia Núñez, today reproached the Government for not giving them direct information about the two detainees, and that they have to find out through the media. On Saturday afternoon, the Minister of the Interior of Venezuela, Diosdado Cabello, announced the arrest of six people, including the aforementioned José María Basoa Valdovinos and Andrés Martínez Adasme, whom he linked to a plan to destabilize the country and carry out "terrorist" attacks, also against the president himself, Nicolás Maduro.
