International
Spain reduces the escalation of tension with Caracas in the midst of the diplomatic crisis
The Spanish Government chose this Friday to lower the escalation of tension between Caracas and Madrid and described as “sovereign” the decision of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro to summon the Spanish ambassador to the country and call his representative in the Spanish capital for consultations.
“Convening an ambassador and calling for consultations are sovereign decisions of each State and therefore, there is nothing to comment on,” said the Spanish Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares, in an interview with the public broadcaster Radio Nacional.
Albares thus responded to Maduro’s decision to call his ambassador in Spain, Gladys Gutiérrez, for consultations and summon the Spanish ambassador in Caracas, Ramón Santos, for what he considers “insolent, interent and rude statements” made by the Spanish Minister of Defense, Margarita Robles.
The PP calls for the withdrawal of the Spanish ambassador in Caracas
On Thursday, Robles described the government of Nicolás Maduro as a “dictatorship” and referred to Venezuelans who have left their country as “victims of restriction, violence, lack of democracy and lack of freedom.”
Comments on which the Spanish Government has not spoken out, but which have been applauded by the right because they are “the pure truth,” in the words of the leader of the conservative Popular Party Esteban González Pons, who has come to ask for the withdrawal of the Spanish ambassador in Caracas.
The head of Spanish diplomacy insisted on the will of the Executive to seek “the best possible relations with the brotherly people of Venezuela” and to ensure the interests of the community and national companies in the South American country.
A message of tranquility to which the Minister of Economy, Carlos Cuerpo, joined, who guaranteed that the Spanish Government “will defend its interests in case this were necessary.”
Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Pablo García was also convinced, in statements to EFE, that the crisis will not worsen because “the Maduro regime is not interested in breaking relations with Spain or Spain with Venezuela.”
“The diplomatic crisis is nothing more than a way to divert attention from what is really important, that is, the need for Spain to recognize Edmundo González as elected president,” said García, a member of the leadership of the Vente Venezuela (VV) movement.
Spain and the EU insist on the election minutes
The escalation of tension between Caracas and Madrid comes after the President of the Spanish Government, Pedro Sánchez, received on Thursday the flag bearer of the Venezuelan opposition Edmundo González Urrutia, who has asked for political asylum in Spain.
Sánchez will not recognize, for the moment, González Urrutia as elected president of Venezuela, as requested by the Spanish Congress, which this week approved the proposal at the request of the conservative Popular Party, the far right and nationalist groups.
Aligned with Brussels, Sánchez insists that Maduro must show the minutes of the July 28 elections that, according to the Venezuelan opposition, accredit the defeat of Chavismo.
At a press conference in Madrid, the high representative for EU Foreign Policy, the Spaniard Josep Borrell, recalled that the community bloc cannot recognize Governments or States because it is a power of the Member States, but what it can do is “recognize the democratic legitimacy of those who hold power, territorial control, the army, the police …”.
That control, “in fact, was Maduro’s before the elections and still Maduro’s after the elections. But we do not consider him a person who can claim democratic legitimacy from the power he holds,” he added.
Venezuela warns that it will not allow “interference”
The Foreign Minister of Venezuela, Yván Gil, told the Spanish ambassador in Caracas that the Caribbean country will not allow “any intervention action by the Government of Spain in matters that are the exclusive competence of Venezuelans.”
“The Government of Venezuela will adopt the necessary measures, within the framework of international law and Bolivarian diplomacy of peace to protect its sovereignty,” says the foreign minister’s note shared on Telegram.
For his part, the former president of Bolivia Evo Morales, an ally of the Maduro government, condemned the pronouncement of the Spanish Parliament that “medles in the internal affairs of Venezuela” and regretted that Spain “becomes a refuge of the Latin American right that continues to conspire against democracies” in the region.
“They have to realize that we are not in Cologne times. Spain does not have the authority to ignore any president,” he wrote on the social network X.
Pressure on Maduro is growing
Since his arrival in Madrid on Sunday, González Urrutia has maintained a low profile, although he has multiplied his political contacts with meetings such as those held this Friday with former presidents Mariano Rajoy (PP) and Felipe González (socialist).
While from the ranks of the Spanish right the pressure increases to act against Maduro: The PP trusts that next week the European Parliament will recognize Edmundo González as the winner of the elections and the far-right Vox asks the Government to seize property of members of the Venezuelan regime of Nicolás Maduro in Spain.
International pressure is growing on Venezuela after the sanctions announced on Thursday by the United States against 16 officials, including members of the Supreme Court of Justice (TSJ), the National Electoral Council (CNE) and Parliament, for “falsely” proclaiming Maduro as the winner of the July elections.
In the same vein, Borrell called for specific sanctions to be applied to Maduro and his inner circle, his families and all those responsible for human rights violations in the country.
International
Marco Rubio warns Venezuela against military action against Guyana
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio warned Venezuela on Thursday that a military attack on Guyana would be “a big mistake” and “a very bad day for them,” expressing his support for Georgetown in its territorial dispute with Caracas.
“It would be a very bad day for the Venezuelan regime if they attacked Guyana or ExxonMobil. It would be a very bad day, a very bad week for them, and it would not end well,” Rubio emphasized during a press conference in Georgetown alongside Guyanese President Irfaan Ali.
International
Ecuador oil spill worsens as containment dam collapses
The collapse of a containment dam holding back part of the 25,000+ barrels of oil spilled from a pipeline rupture nearly two weeks ago has worsened the environmental crisis in northwestern Ecuador, contaminating rivers and Pacific beaches.
The Ecuadorian government attributed the March 13 pipeline rupture—which led to the spill of 25,116 barrels of crude—to an act of sabotage. The spill affected three rivers and disrupted water supplies for several communities, according to authorities.
On Tuesday, due to heavy rains that have been falling since January, a containment dam on the Caple River collapsed. The Caple connects to other waterways in Esmeraldas Province, a coastal region bordering Colombia, state-owned Petroecuador said in a statement on Wednesday.
Seven containment barriers were installed in the Viche River, where crews worked to remove oil-contaminated debris. Additional absorbent materials were deployed in Caple, Viche, and Esmeraldas Rivers, which flow into the Pacific Ocean.
Authorities are also working to protect a wildlife refuge home to more than 250 species, including otters, howler monkeys, armadillos, frigatebirds, and pelicans.
“This has been a total disaster,” said Ronald Ruiz, a leader in the Cube community, where the dam was located. He explained that the harsh winter rains caused river levels to rise, bringing debris that broke the containment barriersthat were holding the accumulated oil for extraction.
International
Federal court blocks Trump’s use of Enemy Alien Act for deportations
A federal appeals court upheld the block on former President Donald Trump’s use of the Enemy Alien Act on Wednesday, preventing him from using the law to expedite deportations of alleged members of the transnational criminal group Tren de Aragua.
With a 2-1 ruling, a panel from the Washington, D.C. Court of Appeals affirmed previous decisions by two lower court judges, maintaining the legal standoff between the White House and the judiciary.
On March 14, Trump invoked the 1798 Enemy Alien Act, a law traditionally used during wartime, to deport hundreds of Venezuelans whom he accused of belonging to Tren de Aragua, a criminal organization that originated in Venezuelan prisons.
The centuries-old law grants the president the power to detain, restrict, and expel foreign nationals from a country engaged in a “declared war” or an “invasion or predatory incursion” against the United States, following a public proclamation.
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