- The new Panamanian president expressed his desire that “everything be resolved” in a democratic manner. Main photo: EFE
Panama’s new president, José Raúl Mulino, hoped that Venezuela would “listen to the will of the people” in the presidential elections scheduled for July 28.
“The only thing I wish for Venezuela is that on July 28 everything is resolved democratically, that the will of the people is heard,” Mulino said in an interview with Argentine radio. MitreJuly 4.
He stressed that the international community is closely following these elections in Venezuela, among which Nicolás Maduro stands out – who will seek his second re-election – and the standard-bearer of the Democratic Unitary Platform (PUD), Edmundo González.
“I am particularly paying close attention to the elections. As Venezuela finds a better path and things begin to become more peaceful in political terms, obviously fewer people will try to pass through Panama and Darien,” Mulino said.
Migrants crossing Darien
According to data from Panamanian authorities, more than 195,000 people crossed the Darien jungle, which connects Colombia and Panama, between January and June 2024, most of them from Venezuela.
In 2023, Panama reported that more than 520,000 migrants crossed this route, an unprecedented figure.
On July 3, the National Border Service (Senafront) announced the closure of three crossing points used by migrants to cross the Darien jungle, with a “perimeter barrier,” with the aim of “channeling” their flow and exercising greater control over this route.
He acknowledged that Panama’s diplomatic relations with Venezuela, Cuba and Nicaragua are “somewhat diminished.”
However, the new Panamanian president stressed that his country has a “very high trade exchange” with both Venezuela and Cuba. He assured that many Panamanian businessmen depend on these businesses.
The international community is paying close attention to the elections in Venezuela
On July 3, the United Nations (UN) High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, spoke out on the elections scheduled for July 28 in Venezuela, during an interactive dialogue with the organization’s member states.
In his speech, Türk considered that these elections are a “key opportunity” for the will of the people to be respected.
“I deplore the fact that restrictions on civic space are increasing. In fact, the opposite is necessary: free and open spaces for debate,” he said.
He said that as the election date approaches, his office continues to receive reports of arrests, including those of collaborators and members of the Venezuelan opposition.
For his part, the leader of the Popular Party of Spain, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, expressed on June 26 that the presidential elections in Venezuela They will be “neither just nor free”, due to the political disqualification of opposition candidates, a measure that was considered arbitrary by the government of Nicolás Maduro.
On June 14, G7 leaders expressed concern about the crisis in Venezuela and demanded that hold “competitive and inclusive” elections on July 28.
“We are deeply concerned by the current political, economic and humanitarian crisis in Venezuela and by the lack of progress in the implementation of the Barbados Agreement of October 2023,” reads the final declaration of the summit held in the Italian region of Puglia by the leaders of the United States, Canada, Germany, France, Italy, Japan and the United Kingdom.
The group also demanded that Venezuelan authorities put an end to the “harassment” against opposition members. They also called for the “immediate” release of all political prisoners.
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2024-07-05 06:50:15