Santiago Peña, president-elect of Paraguay, announced that the reestablishment of relations with Venezuela will be done “without conditions.” In his opinion, maintaining the diplomatic link does not prevent him from being critical of the situation in the country.
The elected president of Paraguay, santiago penaratified on Tuesday, May 16, that he will restore diplomatic relations with Venezuela “without conditions”, once he assumes the mandate next August.
This was announced by Peña during a visit he made to Brazil to meet with President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, in what is his first appointment as head of state after being elected on April 30.
“Reestablishing relations with Venezuela is a decision that I announced even before the elections,” said the president-elect of Paraguay at a press conference that he gave after the interview he had with Lula da Silva.
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In his opinion, the fact that Paraguay reestablishes relations with Venezuela and the administration of Nicolás Maduro does not prevent Asunción from taking a critical position on the situation that is being recorded and the alleged violation of human rights.
“In this sense, we do not put conditions to reestablish relations. We are going to do it and we want to be a voice in the integration process, we also want to be a voice for the people of Venezuela, as Paraguay has historically been, which has received Venezuelan opposition leaders who often sought in friendly countries the possibility of their claims being heard,” he said.
Santiago Peña recalled his conversation with Maduro and that he informed him of his decision to restore relations, just as he stressed that his objective is to work for the integration process of Latin America through organizations such as Celac, Unasur and Mercosur.
He affirmed that, although he did not do so in the meeting he had this Tuesday with Lula, he may possibly address the issue of Venezuela in the conversations he will have in the coming days with the president of Uruguay, Luis Lacalle Pou, and Argentina, Alberto Fernández, whom you will also visit.
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“Surely this (Venezuela) will be a matter of conversation at the next meeting of (heads of state of) Mercosur but today there are no conditions,” he said.
Santiago Peña became the sunday april 30 in the president-elect of Paraguay, with 42.93% of the votes over the center-leftist Efraín Alegre (27.52%), according to the provisional results of the Superior Court of Electoral Justice.
After being elected, he reported that Paraguay will reopen its embassy in Venezuela. “The fact that Paraguay recognizes a government does not imply that we are a voice in principles and values. We believe that democracy must be enriched by broad electoral processes and the defense of human rights. Our voice will always be a voice of support for the Venezuelan people. I have said it publicly, my intention is to restore relations with Venezuela, ”he advanced.
With information from EFE
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