Eduardo González
Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares personally discussed the situation in Venezuela with US Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau, following President Donald Trump’s recent threats to launch a military attack against Venezuelan territory “very soon.”
The bilateral meeting took place this Wednesday in Brussels on the sidelines of the NATO Foreign Ministers’ meeting, as reported by the Ministry in a subsequent press release. The Minister also met with his counterparts from Germany, Johann Wadephul; Poland, Radosław Sikorski; Canada, Anita Anand; Lithuania, Kęstutis Budrys; and Norway, Espen Barth.
According to sources familiar with the conversation who spoke to The Diplomat, Albares and Landau discussed, “in Spanish,” “the bilateral relationship, security, and Venezuela.” The same sources did not provide further details.
Upon arriving at the NATO meeting, Albares told the press that “the crisis in Venezuela must be resolved peacefully, with a democratic solution, and above all, through dialogue and a genuinely Venezuelan one.” “You will never find Spain fanning the flames regarding any Latin American brother country, whatever it may be,” warned Albares, who assured that he is “closely following the situation in Venezuela.”
This past Tuesday, during a security meeting of his cabinet broadcast by the White House, US President Donald Trump stated that his country will launch “very soon” ground attacks against Venezuelan drug cartels, as part of Operation Southern Spear, which to date has resulted in the destruction of some twenty vessels in the Caribbean and the Pacific and nearly eighty deaths, according to US figures.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs continues to warn that, “given the current uncertainty generated by the temporary suspension of flights to and from Venezuela by various airlines (Iberia, Air Europa, Turkish Airlines, Avianca, among others), travelers are advised to stay informed of any updates that may occur.”
Last Monday, Iberia decided to cancel its operations to Venezuela until December 31, following the recommendation issued that same day by the Spanish Aviation Safety Agency (AESA). With this measure, the airline extends the suspension agreed upon on November 22, following the alert issued by the United States Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) regarding instability in Venezuela, and will only resume flights to Venezuela when “full security guarantees are restored.” On November 24, the Spanish airline Air Europa also canceled its flights to Venezuela.
In response to these measures, the Caracas government revoked on November 26 the concession to operate in the country for the airlines Iberia, TAP, Avianca, Latam, Turkish and GOL, which it accused of “joining the actions of terrorism” of the United States with its decision to “unilaterally” cancel flights with Venezuela.