Rift Between Venezuela and EU Deepens

!!!

As the Venezuelan crisis continues to escalate, foreign powers have begun to clearly convey their views on President Maduro. As reported by 14ymedio of Cuba, Venezuela has deported a group of European diplomats that had planned several meetings, including one with opposition leader Juan Guaidó.

Esteban González Pons, a Spanish member of the group, explained that their passports had been confiscated before being placed on a plane. The delegation was comprised of high-ranking officials as well as European representatives to the Latin American region. The diplomats were told that the reason for their expulsion was that President Maduro did not want them in the country, despite their protests that they had been formally invited to the country by the legislative branch of the Venezuelan government.

While González Pons was adamant that he would relate his experiences to the European Parliament, he further stated that he would not restrain himself from characterizing the Maduro regime as a dictatorship. He will also ask the European Union and the Spanish government to further press Venezuela for a new and free government while economically targeting Maduro and his cohorts. The Spanish diplomat viewed the episode as a humiliation for both the European Union and Spain, characterizing Venezuela as an isolated dictatorship reminiscent to that of North Korea. Maduro is skeptical of the European Union because it supports the Trump administration’s policy of regime change in Venezuela, which is currently focused on replacing Maduro with Guaidó as president.