The Venezuelan opponent Juan Guaidó, who was the president in charge of the country, was expelled from Colombia due to what the authorities described as an “irregular” entry. He made it across the border, he says on foot and without presenting any documentation.
His intention, he declared, was to attend an international summit on Venezuela called by the Colombian president, Gustavo Petro, in which neither the opposition nor the Venezuelan government participate.
On Monday night Guaidó was taken to the Bogotá airport. He took a plane to Miami at 11 pm, where he is now.
This Tuesday President Petro said: “simply enter with your passport and ask for asylum. He would have gladly offered it. He doesn’t have to enter the country illegally. He was offered permission to transit, he was not deported back to his country and with the permission of the United States he flew to that country.
Colombian government denies having invited Juan Guaidó to a conference on Venezuela
Colombian Foreign Minister Álvaro Leyva assured, for his part, that Colombia “did not expel” Juan Guaidó because he had “a ticket in his pocket with the day, time and line with which he was traveling.” According to the minister, he was facilitated by the United States.
He added that the politician “was accompanied by United States agents all the time in El Dorado. The ticket was provided by the United States. He had to apply the law. Migration could not stay still”.
Washington admits that it helped him, but does not confirm the details provided by the Colombian Foreign Minister.
A senior US official told the Spanish news agency EFE that the United States helped Guaidó leave Colombia because it felt threatened.
“Juan Guaidó believes that he is threatened and left Venezuela for Colombia. We helped him to continue with his departure to the United States, “said the US official, who said” he could not speak “about whether the Venezuelan has requested or will request asylum in the United States.
In a subsequent press conference, the deputy spokesman for the State Department, Vedant Patel, explained that Guaidó was helped by US diplomats in “close collaboration” with the Colombian government. He did not elaborate.
