• Venezuela Maduro threatens Spain with a "thorough" review of its relations after González Laya's visit to the border

  • Latin America Sanitary chaos on the border between Venezuela and Colombia

Spain closes the latest controversy with Nicolás Maduro, despite his threat to "thoroughly review" relations between the two countries after the visit of the Foreign Minister, Arancha González Laya, to the border between Venezuela and Colombia, where thousands of Venezuelans escape the conditions of the Chavista regime.

The Chavista government has worked hard to discredit Laya's trip and although the head of Spanish diplomacy did not want to feed the controversy, on her return to Madrid, the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs for Latin America and the Caribbean,

Cristina Gallach

, has summoned the representative of Maduro in Spain to the Ministry.

According to reports from Foreign Affairs, Gallach wanted to convey to the Venezuelan Chargé d'Affaires in our country, Mauricio Rodríguez,

"our disappointment at the expulsion of the EU delegate in Caracas

, Isabel Brihante" and "point out that actions like this or like the statements of Nicolás Maduro do not favor the realization of the interest of Spain and the European Union to be constructive actors in the way out of the crisis. "

Laya's presence in the Colombian city of Cúcuta led Maduro to maintain this Sunday, in a television speech, that "whoever wants good treatment has to give respect and good treatment to Venezuela."

"We are going to thoroughly review all relations with Spain, enough of the aggressions.

We are going to respond forcefully to any aggression that comes, whether in word, action, diplomatic or political," he said.

The broadside against the minister's trip had already been manifested previously in other demonstrations by the Venezuelan Foreign Minister, Jorge Arreaza, who assured on social networks: "A whole staging of the endless play on the obsession with Venezuela.

They say to all four winds that want to help in the dialogue, but they cancel themselves with the actions ".

But, despite the constant provocations, the minister limited herself to replying that "I am not here to criticize or give lessons to Venezuela, we are here to give an answer."

"Cutting bridges and expelling ambassadors does not help dialogue.

Spain is committed to dialogue in a political conflict that Venezuelans have to resolve," he defended, without this having served for Maduro to limit his outbursts.

No other responses are expected from the Foreign Minister, who asked

"the same respect that I preach is the same respect that I demand, neither more nor less."

But formally Spain has conveyed its discomfort to Maduro's charge d'affaires, at the meeting called by Gallach, which also represents a diplomatic reply to the protest note delivered to Spain, Germany, France and the Netherlands, with which the regime accompanied the decision to expel the EU ambassador in Caracas, the Portuguese Brihante.

The meeting at the Foreign Ministry comes after a week of great tension with Venezuela in which two 'conflicts' have crossed.

The struggle that Maduro is waging with Brussels, declaring the head of the EU delegation in Venezuela persona non grata, after the new sanctions against regime officials "for acts and decisions that threaten democracy", after the elections December, and that they led the EU on Thursday to respond to Chavismo with the same medicine and leave its head of mission without diplomatic status.

And the one that seems to stoke with Spain, which, in the midst of this tug of war, points directly, in a constant escalation, by the attention that Laya has paid to the Venezuelan exodus in Colombia, both with his visit and with his leadership in the Donors Conference, to meet your financial needs.

In any case, they indicate from the Foreign Ministry, Spain "remains coordinated with its European partners."

According to the criteria of The Trust Project

Know more

  • Spain

  • Venezuela

  • Nicolas Maduro

  • Arancha González Laya

  • Colombia

Direct Witness González Laya on the Venezuelan border: "Cutting bridges and expelling ambassadors does not help dialogue"

VenezuelaChavismo does not give in in its escalation against Spain

VenezuelaThe Contact Group calls for "resuming political negotiations" with Nicolás Maduro

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