Venezuela’s new ambassador, Timoteo Zambrano, has arrived in Spain

Eduardo González

The new Venezuelan ambassador to Spain, Timoteo Zambrano, a close associate of former Spanish Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero and also closely linked for years to the more moderate and dialogue-oriented opposition to Chavismo, has arrived in Madrid, according to a statement released by the Embassy on social media.

“His Excellency Ambassador Timoteo Zambrano arrived in the Kingdom of Spain today. The head of the diplomatic mission was received at Adolfo Suárez Madrid-Barajas Airport by diplomatic staff and the military attaché assigned to the mission,” the Embassy posted on its Instagram account last Friday, June 12. Details regarding when he will present his credentials are currently unknown.

The appointment of Zambrano—who will replace Gladys Gutiérrez Alvarado—a moderate opponent of the regime, reveals the intention of Delcy Rodríguez’s government to send to Madrid (for the first time in over twenty years) someone outside of Chavismo but sufficiently open to dialogue to avoid a break with the regime.

Timoteo Zambrano, 71, has been linked for years to the more moderate and conciliatory opposition to Chavismo. Between 2002 and 2004, he was one of the most prominent leaders of the anti-Chavista alliance Democratic Coordinator and, after several political shifts, in 2010 he was one of the founders of the Democratic Unity Roundtable (MUD), another anti-Chavista platform. These activities, and his moderate and conciliatory nature, led him to participate in several political negotiation processes with the regime and to maintain a very close relationship with Rodríguez Zapatero.

That profile of an opponent, but not too much, seems to fit very well with the current transition process that Venezuela is experiencing, overseen by the President of the United States, Donald Trump, since the military assault on Caracas on January 3 that led to the capture of President Nicolás Maduro.