The President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, recognized this Friday that it was “informed“by former Minister of Transport José Luis Ábalos of the trip of the vice-president of Venezuela, Delcy Rodríguez, to Spain. However, the head of the Executive maintained that it was “a private visit” and that it was canceled when it was learned that there were sanctions against him.
This is what the President of the Government declared during a press conference from Rome after his meeting with Pope Francis. “In fact, former Minister Ábalos informed me of this private visit from Vice President Delcy Rodríguez to Spain. When the Spanish government realized that there were individual sanctions against the vice president, This visit has been canceled.“, he defended. It should be remembered that Rodríguez landed at Barajas airport one night on January 19, 2020, but his entry into the Schengen area was prohibited.
The president’s response comes after learning that the Central Operational Unit (UCO) of the Civil Guard claims in its report that Ábalos informed Sánchez that he was going to meet the Venezuelan vice president, despite the ban on entering the Union. European (EU). The document includes a screenshot of a conversation with a message allegedly sent by Ábalos to the Chief Executive.
Sánchez argued that “private or official visits by vice presidents and ministers of several foreign governments are very everyday. The cancellation of this visit, which he considers private, was the only “participation of the Spanish government”. “Therefore, everything another question related to alleged criminal practices, It will be the state security forces and organs and the justice system that will resolve the problem,” he assured.
Finally, the president indicated that “whoever has to respond will be the people involved“. In addition, he recalled that the Venezuelan vice-president spoke last year at a European summit and “participated in person” in Brussels. For her part, the government spokesperson, Pilar Alegría, assured this Friday that Rodríguez’s stay in Barajas was due to “a technical stop” and that “there was no meeting”, since the Government “acted accordingly”.
Along the same lines as Sánchez, Alegría said she knew Rodríguez was sanctioned by the European Union, which prevented her from entering the Schengen area. “This is real information” and “the truth,” Alegría emphasized to the media during his visit to the “El Blauet” school, in Santa Coloma de Gramanet (Barcelona).
About the Koldo affair
On the other hand, the president assured that “there will be no impunity” for the Koldo affair and he stressed that it will be Justice which will decide. “Contrary to what happened in the past, with my government, if there is a case of corruption, it will be the justice and the state security forces and organs that will determine it, it will not be the case. there is impunity. Whoever does it pays the price,” he said.
“I want to convey to citizens that the most important thing in this action is to respond decisively, to collaborate with Justice, be transparent through clean government that this has nothing to do with these practices which lack exemplary character and border on corruption (of the past) and also that there will be no impunity,” he added.
