The Minister of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation, José Manuel Albares, categorically denied this. There was a request from the government of Nicolas Maduro for the departure of the opponent Edmundo González from Venezuela, and defended that it is a decision he took for “humanitarian reasons.” “We would never have accepted them and they were never raised to us,” said the minister, insisting that there was no “political negotiation.”
Albares denied the Venezuelan government and the PP’s accusations, assuring that there had been no “counterparts” to encourage the departure of the opposition candidate. “The only contacts were operational,” the minister said in an interview with Wave zeroThis was stated after the words of the Venezuelan Vice President, Delcy Rodríguez, assure that there were “extensive conversations and contacts” with the Spanish government.
The minister regretted “stupidity” that he has heard and read since this Sunday. He therefore affirms that the contacts were aimed at facilitating the landing in Caracas of the Spanish Air Force plane that finally transported the opposition leader to Spain and to “guarantee the security” of the vehicle that transported him from the residence of the Spanish ambassador where he was to the airport.
“There has been no political negotiation between the Spanish government and the Venezuelan government and there has been no compensation for the departure of Edmundo González… If anyone knows any, just say so.” contested. The head of diplomacy indicated that no compensation was proposed but in any case the Government would “never” have accepted them: “Absolutely, we would not have accepted them and they were not proposed to us.”
“We will not recognize Maduro’s victory”
“Spain’s position remains the same with Edmundo González in Caracas or Madrid, We will not recognize the alleged victory of Nicolas Maduro“We want the minutes to be delivered, it is an absolute red line for us and what guided us in granting asylum is the protection of political rights and physical integrity” of political leaders, he stressed.
Furthermore, he explained that the “only conversation” he had in this administration was to speak with the opposition candidate and confirm what he had already been told from the Spanish embassy, that he wanted to settle in Spain. He even told Edmundo González that “could stay in the residence of the Spanish ambassador as long as he wished,” as happened in the past with his fellow opposition member Leopoldo López, who after more than a year finally moved to Spain.
“It’s better in Spain than in the embassy residence or in a prison,” the minister assured, stressing that here he will have “freedom of expression” to continue his opposition work. “I want to transfer it: the government will never close it the door to a Latin American brother who needs it“, he stressed, adding that he has a “responsibility to act intelligently to protect opposition leaders.”
