Dozens of Venezuelan opponents gathered on Tuesday to insult José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, former president of the government, after Nicolas Maduro’s fraud in the Venezuelan elections of July 28. The demonstrators accused the socialist with cries of “traitor”, “coward!” and “sellout!”, among others, in front of the doors of the Ateneo de Madrid, where the politician presented his book Democracy and its rights. Zapatero also acknowledged having participated in the negotiations to allow the arrival of Edmundo González, elected president of Venezuela, in what he defined as “a facilitation task”.
Shouts of “Maduro dictator!”, “Zapatero his advisor!”, “traitor”, “coward!” and “sellout!” and “scoundrel!” were heard in Prado Street, in the centre of Madrid, where the protesters went to receive the former socialist leader upon his arrival at the event. “Zapatero has been a key asset of the Venezuelan dictatorship, acting as a negotiator or supposed moderator, but what he does is whitewash all the abuses and violations of human rights before the international community,” said one of the protesters present in front of the Athenaeum.
“Today for Venezuela, tomorrow for Spain” ” was another of the proclamations sung by the protesters. Zapatero positions himself as one of the main supporters of the dictatorship of Nicolas Maduro. The socialist attended the elections as an observer, along with other left-wing leaders from Latin American countries, invited by the regime.
The former socialist president defended his actions before journalists during and after the elections, after which he never acknowledged the electoral fraud committed by the Chavista dictator. “That’s what animators do, maintain trust because it is a duty of loyalty, I owe it to the people who participated. And also because in the future I may have to carry out a mission in Venezuela. I will always try to make that the attitude of this country,” Zapatero explained, justifying his close relations with the regime. The former president has always shown his support for the Maduro dictatorship and is the only member of the Puebla Group who has not condemned Maduro’s fraud.
