Eduardo González
Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares has announced his intention to propose to his EU colleagues this Monday the lifting of sanctions against the interim president of Venezuela, Delcy Rodríguez. He asserted that there is “a consensus” on this matter both among his counterparts with whom he has spoken and with the High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Kaja Kallas.
“There has been good news, which is the amnesty passed unanimously,” Albares declared in Brussels upon his arrival at the EU Foreign Affairs Council meeting, referring to the Amnesty Law enacted last Thursday by Delcy Rodríguez. Following this, the minister himself announced, the next day, his intention to “formally” request the lifting of European sanctions against the interim president of Venezuela.
This is a measure that Spain has been requesting for a long time, and the European Union cannot remain outside of this dialogue that the United States, of course, but also Spain, are promoting,” he continued. “As you know, I speak with both the government and the opposition to promote a broad dialogue that is peaceful and democratic, and the European Union must participate in and support it,” he declared.
“That is why today (this Monday at the CAE) I am going to request that the process begin to lift the individual sanctions against Delcy Rodríguez, the interim president, because if the current Venezuelan government in this new phase is taking steps in the direction we want, the European Union must send a clear signal that this is the right path, that if more steps are taken in this direction, the European Union will continue to take further steps,” he announced.
When asked if he had spoken with his EU colleagues about this proposal, Albares replied: “I haven’t spoken with everyone, and unanimity is required, but I have spoken with some and I have spoken with the High Representative.” “There is a consensus, there is an understanding,” he affirmed. “Everyone understands that we must send a strong signal that we are moving in the right direction,” and, in this sense, “sanctions are never an end in themselves; they are a means, a means of pressure, if you will, to achieve an end, which is to move toward, for example, the release of political prisoners, as is the case with amnesty,” he added.
In any case, he cautioned, “this meeting will not be where the sanctions are lifted because that is not how it is done, but it could happen quickly.” “What I am doing at this meeting is raising the issue and initiating the process, but if the decision is made, it shouldn’t take long,” he concluded. European sanctions against Venezuela were first adopted in 2016 and entail, for those sanctioned, including then-Vice President Delcy Rodríguez, a ban on entering the EU and the freezing of their assets and property in Europe.
