He President Gustavo Petro He assured this Sunday that the “Venezuelan government” He took away the right to elect and be elected from opposition leader María Corina Machadoand defended the decision he made to maintain diplomatic relations with the Chavista leader Nicolás Maduro.
“We will maintain diplomatic relations not because we legitimize elections that were not free from the beginning, when the agreement to lift economic sanctions was violated so that the people could vote freely, then the response of the Venezuelan government followed by taking away the right to elect and be elected. to María Corina“Petro expressed in an extensive message published in X.
(You can read: Nicolás Maduro says he is preparing to ‘take up arms’ with Cuba and Nicaragua).
The president insisted that his Government will seek “a democratic dialogue in Colombia and Venezuela,” as well as “the respect of the people“.
Gustavo Petro
“We denounce the violation of their fundamental rights both in Colombia and Venezuela or anywhere in the world.“said Petro, who added that”Diplomatic relations are so that people can unite and not suffer from the disagreements of their governments.“.
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Nicolás Maduro was sworn in on Friday as president of Venezuela for the period 2025-2031 by the National Assembly (AN, Parliament)controlled by Chavismo, despite the fact that the majority opposition claims that Edmundo González Urrutia He was the winner of last July’s elections.
The position of the Petro Government, which ensures that there were no free elections in Venezuela and has not yet recognized Maduro as president, is to maintain relations with the neighboring country precisely because of the impact on the border.
“They never stop thirsting for blood”
In his message, Petro referred again to the idea of an international intervention to remove Maduro from power in Venezuela, proposed by the former president Álvaro Uribe (2002-2010).
Uribe, who governed the Andean country between 2002 and 2010, spoke about the proposal for international intervention this Saturday in Cucutaa city that has Colombia’s main border crossing with Venezuela, after Maduro’s questioned inauguration on Friday.
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“We call for international intervention, preferably endorsed by the United Nations, to remove these tyrants from power and immediately call for free elections.“said the former president.
In that sense, Petro responded that Uribe and his party, the Democratic Centerthey seek that “young Colombians and Venezuelans kill each other, let Venezuelan and Colombian mothers cry for their dead children“.
After intensifying the fact that Colombians kill each other, that the state kills young Colombians and tortures and imprisons them, they come to ask that young Colombians and Venezuelans kill each other, that Venezuelan and Colombian mothers cry for their children …
— Gustavo Petro (@petrogustavo) January 12, 2025
“I have to say it clearly, if one day young Colombians and Venezuelans killed each other in a war, we would have committed the greatest stupidity in history. The mark of blood and vengeance would mark us for entire generations to come.“added the president.
Likewise, Petro once again asked to lift the blockades against Venezuela.
“An economic blockade of one country on another is abominable, and worse is a military invasion like so many we have seen in the 21st century.“, he expressed.
EFE
