Venezuela: prevented the entry of a delegation of MEPs invited by Juan Guaidó

The government of

Nicolás Maduro

prevented the entrance to

Venezuela

a commission composed of five MEPs, including four Spaniards, who had visited the South American country officially invited by Parliament.

"We have kept our pbadports, they have not communicated the reason for the expulsion, and no document justifies it," said Esteban González Pons, first vice-president of the European People's Parliamentary Group (EPP) and spokesperson for the PP. The rest of the commission is composed of Spanish MEPs Gabriel Mato, José Ignacio Salafranca and Juan Salafranca, as well as Esther de Lange of the Netherlands.

The response of the person who sent the invitation to MEPs,

Juan Guaidó

, arrived later: "The delegation of MEPs invited to Venezuela is expelled by an isolated and more and more irrational regime, it is the usurper who increases the cost of what is a fact: the transition".

The protests of some mingled with the jokes of others, like Diosdado Cabello, number two of the revolution, who was much more direct than the chancellor: "Jijiji," he writes on Twitter in response to complaints from Gonzalez Pons.

The radical Bolivarian leader was already in 2018 the main guarantor of the declaration of persona non grata against the ambbadador of Spain, after the EU decided to punish him individually. "The Maduro government continues to dig the trench," said badyst Felix Seijas, director of the Delphos pollster.

In diplomatic circles, it was badumed that the Spanish delegation would be expelled without further examination by the Bolivarian Government. The European Parliament voted overwhelmingly to recognize Guaidó as interim president of Venezuela.

"When a dictator of a country closes the windows and turns off the lights, it's going to happen without words in deeds, Viva Venezuela free!" Said González Pons, who confirmed by phone to LA NACIÓN that They were back in Europe in the country. same flight from Iberia in which they had arrived. Beside them was the Spanish ambbadador to Caracas, Jesús Silva. "We were the first international delegation invited by acting President, Juan Guaidó", complained González Pons.

"We sympathize with the European parliamentarians because the dictatorship has just expelled the country.It is simply a sign of the fear and despair of Nicolás Maduro, because he knows that this process can not go back ", protested Julio Borges, president of the National Assembly.

Colombian Foreign Minister Carlos Holmes said: "The Colombian government has rejected the dictatorship that prevented the entry of a delegation of the European Parliament to Venezuela and soon the brother country will have democracy and freedom ".

The treatment accorded to Spanish MEPs was very different from that granted last week to Javier Couso, of Izquierda Unida, who led a meeting of intellectuals supposedly in favor of the revolution. The MEP was part of a Spanish delegation that went to Caracas to cover her expenses, according to local press.

The Venezuelan Chancellor, Jorge Arreaza, justified his expulsion by the fact that it was "a trip" for conspiracy purposes and that they had been informed at the time of the visit. advance of what was going to happen. "The government will not allow the European far right to disturb the peace and stability of the country with another of its rude interventionist actions, Venezuela is respected!" Said the Chancellor through his social networks.

The expulsion of the deputies makes the efforts of the contact group created by the European Union, which has already participated last week in a meeting with several countries in the region in Montevideo, even more difficult. A European Commission of the contact group is also planning to visit Caracas in the next few hours to continue the meetings.

"The government has just committed the terrible mistake of dismissing MEPs, and has just burned a possible ally who would have called for dialogue when it got entangled this week," said José Antonio Gil Yepes, director of Datbadisis.