- The parliamentarian said she received threats and was not allowed to call the Colombian ambassador to Venezuela, Milton Rengifo | Main photo: Senate of Colombia
Colombian Green Party Senator Angélica Lozano reported on July 26 that she was expelled from the Maiquetía “Simón Bolívar” International Airport in Venezuela and said that her passport was retained for an hour.
“I have never experienced this before. They just took our passports for over an hour here at the Maiquetía airport. They expelled two Ecuadorian women and two young people from Colombia. They gave us no information and did not let us call the Colombian ambassador in Venezuela, Milton Rengifo,” Lozano said on his account on the social network X.
The parliamentarian also said that she and the other citizens who were expelled received threats that if they made a call, the officials would take away their cell phones.
“Poor country. There are no arguments, no information, no rights. They are imprisoned. My solidarity with this suffering country. When the plane landed, they applauded and shouted that they would give their lives for Venezuela. Hopefully on Sunday (July 28) they will win,” added the congresswoman, referring to Venezuelan citizens who were on the same flight.
Lozano posted another video in which he said they were forced to board a plane back to Bogotá and asked the Colombian Foreign Ministry and the country’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Luis Gilberto Murillo, to take action on the matter.
“If this is what they do to people who come (to Venezuela) for the weekend, then what this people have suffered is unspeakable. On Sunday (July 28) this regime of misery will be lifted. (…) People were crying on the plane with the dream of democracy returning. There is no evil that lasts 100 years,” concluded the senator.
Delegation of parliamentarians expelled from Spain
The delegation of Spanish parliamentarians, headed by the MP for the Popular Party (PP) of Spain, Cayetana Álvarez de Toledo, was expelled from Venezuela from the Simón Bolívar International Airport of Maiquetía.
“The dictatorial and infamous regime of Nicolás Maduro decided to expel us from the country (Venezuela) with spurious and absurd arguments. However, at this moment I would like to transmit all the strength and all the hope to the millions of Venezuelans who in recent months have mobilized in a heroic and historic way,” said Álvarez.
The MP said that before boarding the plane back to Spain, she spoke with opposition leader María Corina Machado on the phone.
“I have been able to communicate with my dear friend, María Corina Machado, and I have conveyed to her the strength and affection of millions of democratic Spaniards around the world who are watching this feat that she is leading alongside Edmundo González Urrutia with infinite admiration,” he said.
The opposition’s invitation to Spanish parliamentarians
The PP spokesman in the Spanish Congress, Miguel Tellado, announced on July 16 that a delegation of parliamentarians from that political party would travel to Venezuela to be present at the presidential elections on July 28.
The Spanish deputies who were invited to the elections by candidate Edmundo González were the following: the deputy parliamentary spokesperson, Cayetana Álvarez de Toledo, the general secretary of the Popular Group in the Spanish Congress, Macarena Montesinos, and the spokesperson for Ibero-American Affairs, Belén Hoyo.
“We want to monitor the cleanliness of the electoral process (in Venezuela),” said Tellado at the opening of a debate organized in the Spanish parliament on the Venezuelan elections.
The parliamentarian asked that the presidential elections be held with “full guarantees” so that they are “valid and respect the voice of the citizens.”
Tellado added that he would be there to show support for clean elections and to denounce any violations or authoritarian attempts to pervert the electoral process and encouraged people to vote en masse. “Their cause is our cause,” he added, addressing the opposition members attending the debate.
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2024-07-27 09:28:59