Washington, .- The special envoy of the Government for Venezuela, Elliott Abrams, will travel this week to Spain and Portugal to address “the deterioration of the situation” in Venezuela and the need for a political “transition” towards “free and fair elections”, The State Department reported today.
Abrams will be in Lisbon and Madrid between 9 and 11 April, said the source, who did not specify the contents of his agenda.
“The United States, Portugal and Spain support a transition guided by Venezuelans towards fair and free elections,” said the brief statement from the State Department.
“The United States is committed to supporting the restoration of democracy in Venezuela, as stated in its Constitution and through the actions of interim President Juan Guaidó and the National Assembly,” he added of the Venezuelan opposition leader whom Washington has recognized since January as legitimate representative of that country.
Since then, Guaidó has won recognition from 54 countries, including most of Latin America and Europe. However, other major powers, such as China or Russia, have maintained their support for Nicolás Maduro, whom they consider the legitimate president of the Caribbean country.
In mid-March, Abrams confirmed that he had “conversations” with the Spanish authorities about the possibility of Spain hosting Venezuelan officials who decided to defect and abandon Maduro.
“We have had some conversations with Spain, but I would not say that we have made a request, and they have given an answer, we have definitely had conversations, we have had them with them (Spain) and with a couple of other places,” he said. the official.
The government of President Donald Trump on Friday redoubled his pressure against the government of President Nicolás Maduro by imposing sanctions against two companies and 34 freighters engaged in transporting oil from Venezuela to Cuba.
In an act in Houston (Texas), in which he announced these sanctions, the vice president, Mike Pence, then assured that the US will continue to exercise “all the economic and diplomatic pressure” against the Maduro government and insisted that “all options are on the table, “including military, to achieve the exit of the Venezuelan president of power. (EFEUSA)
