- Former presidents and senators from the region were expected to attend Sunday’s elections | Main photo: EFE
Since Friday, July 26, there have been multiple complaints from parliamentarians, former presidents and other politicians from the region who were not allowed to enter Venezuela to be present at the presidential elections on July 28.
The first case reported was that of several members of the Freedom and Democracy Group and the Democratic Initiative of Spain and the Americas (IDEA Group), who were traveling on a Copa Airlines plane bound for Venezuela.
The former presidents and vice presidents who were on the plane were:
– Mireya Moscoso, former president of Panama (1999-2004)
– Jorge “Tuto” Quiroga, former president of Bolivia (2001-2002)
– Miguel Angel Rodriguez, former president of Costa Rica (1998-2002)
– Marta Lucía Ramírez, former Vice President of Colombia (2018-2022)
– Vicente Fox, former president of Mexico (2000-2006)
Former Bolivian President Jorge Quiroga said in a video posted on social media that the plane had been ordered not to take off from Panama unless the five former presidents got off the plane.
“We have been on this plane for an hour, and the tyrannical, abusive and authoritarian regime (referring to the Nicolás Maduro government) says that this flight, 223, cannot take off from Panama to Caracas until the former presidents and vice president (Marta Lucía) Ramírez get off. Not only that, but also a flight that is scheduled to leave from Caracas to Panama, 222, cannot take off without us getting off,” Quiroga said.
This information was confirmed by Panamanian President José Raúl Mulino, who through his account on the social network X reported on the “blockage of Venezuelan airspace” for the Copa Airlines plane that was transporting the former presidents.
Former presidents Mireya Moscoso and Vicente Fox expressed their rejection of the measure adopted by the Venezuelan authorities and expressed their support for the country’s opposition. They said that this is an “arbitrary measure by the Nicolás Maduro regime.”
Expulsion of delegation of Spanish parliamentarians
The delegation of Spanish parliamentarians, headed by the MP for the Popular Party (PP) of Spain, Cayetana Álvarez de Toledo, was also expelled from Venezuela on July 26 from the Simón Bolívar International Airport of Maiquetía.
Among the parliamentarians who were part of this delegation were:
– Miguel Tellado, spokesperson for the Popular Parliamentary Group in the Congress of Deputies.
– Esteban González Pons, MEP and spokesperson for the European People’s Party (EPP).
– Cayetana Álvarez de Toledo, deputy spokesperson for the Popular Parliamentary Group in the Congress of Deputies.
– Macarena Montesinos, general secretary of the PP in the Congress of Deputies.
– Belén Hoyo, member of the Popular Parliamentary Group in the Congress of Deputies.
– Juan José Matarí, member of the PP in the Congress of Deputies.
– Adrián Pardo, director of the PP’s cabinet in the Congress of Deputies.
Cayetana Álvarez de Toledo posted a video on social media in which she explained how they were expelled from Venezuela by the authorities.
“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 deputy said that before boarding the plane back to Spain, she spoke with opposition leader María Corina Machado on the phone and told her that Spaniards around the world are monitoring the process that is taking place in Venezuela.
According to the EFE news agency, the Spanish parliamentarians arrived at Madrid-Barajas Adolfo Suárez Airport on July 27.
That same day, it became known that former Spanish deputy Víctor González had been deported from Venezuela, after he managed to enter the country on Friday.
“Victor managed to enter Venezuela yesterday and today the regime went to look for him at the hotel to deport him. We demand that his physical integrity be respected and that the abuses cease,” Vente Venezuela denounced on its X account.
Former Spanish MP Victor Gonzalez is currently being deported by the regime.
Victor managed to enter Venezuela yesterday and today the regime went to look for him at the hotel to deport him.
We demand that their physical integrity be respected and that the abuses cease. pic.twitter.com/aP1zoUwTMi
— ConVzla Command (@ConVzlaComando) July 27, 2024
Expulsion of Colombian Senator Angélica Lozano
Another politician who was expelled upon her arrival in Venezuela was the senator for the Colombian Green Party, Angélica Lozano, who denounced the incident on her social networks. She added that her passport was retained for more than an hour and she was not allowed to communicate with the Colombian ambassador in Venezuela, Milton Rengifo.
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.
Likewise, Ecuadorian leaders Ana Mercedes Galarza and María Paula Romo were deported upon arriving at Maiquetía International Airport. Galarza explained that they did not go through immigration in Venezuela, and that, upon reviewing their documents, the authorities detained them and sent them to Colombia without offering any explanation.
Likewise, the former mayor of Bogotá, Claudia López (2020-2024), indicated that she was deported by the Venezuelan authorities and forced to board a Latam airline plane bound for Lima (Peru). López subsequently flew from the Peruvian capital to Bogotá (Colombia).
“Don’t worry, this country (Venezuela) will be free again. They must be so scared that they will deport us. This regime will end on Sunday (July 28),” said the former mayor in a video posted on social media.
Former Colombian Minister of Transport and Trade Angela Maria Orozco reported on July 27 that Venezuelan authorities had denied her entry into the country.
“The sole purpose of my visit was to accompany the millions of Venezuelans who hope that tomorrow will be a fair and free election day. I will always support any process that guarantees this,” Orozco wrote on his X account.
Argentine senators expelled
Alejandro Bongiovanni, a member of the Argentine Chamber of Deputies, reported that upon arriving at Maiquetía International Airport he was deported by Venezuelan authorities.
“I am no longer incommunicado. I am being deported. I was put on a flight to Panama that is about to take off. It was worth trying. Sunday will be historic. Until the end, Venezuela,” he wrote on his X account.
Argentine Senator Francisco Paoltroni was also deported after his arrival at Maiquetía International Airport “without any explanation” from Venezuelan authorities.
“This situation is a clear violation of our rights and shows the state of repression and control that the government exercises over its citizens and visitors. On Sunday, Venezuela will make history,” said Paoltroni.
Deportation of the Chilean delegation
Similarly, Chilean senators Felipe Kast and José Manuel Rojo Edwards were also ordered to leave the country for allegedly “not meeting the conditions” to enter Venezuela.
“We have just been informed that we are being deported because we are told that we do not meet the profile or the conditions to enter the country. It is completely arbitrary. This shows that all the words of some who say that it is a democracy are simply a big lie,” Kast denounced in a video posted on the social network X.
The Chilean Senate President said that these events are “undemocratic” and “denote the utmost seriousness” because “the Chilean senators have all the conditions usually required by the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela to enter its territory.”
Edwards, from the Social Christian Party, said that the government of Nicolás Maduro “has brought misery and hunger” and that, in his opinion, Latin America is attentive to what happens in the presidential elections of July 28.
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2024-07-27 22:44:58
