Versión Español
Nicolás Maduro’s fleeting visit to Mexico for the Lopez Obrador inauguration is alleged to have served another purpose, whereby a request for asylum for senior officials of the Venezuelan dictatorship was made.
According to the Spanish newspaper ABC de España, Maduro seized on the opportunity to broach the possibility of AMLO granting asylum to high-ranking officials of the Venezuelan dictatorship and their families before Venezuela’s upcoming January 10 elections.
“In the private reception he had with López Obrador, the Venezuelan president invited AMLO to his second inauguration in January 10 in Caracas. But, according to sources that ABC has had access to, he also took advantage of the meeting to bring up the possibility that the new Mexican government might grant asylum to senior Venezuelan officials and their families, in the event that the Chavez regime has to leave power after January 10,” the newspaper said.
They added that “for senior officials of the Maduro regime, the recent election of AMLO opens a more attractive possibility than other countries to seek asylum due to the geographical proximity of Mexico, and the ideological and cultural affinity.”
It remains to be seen what actions the governments of the world will take after January 10, a date in which, in theory, the regime will remain in power via fraudulent elections, after banning numerous opposition politicians and parties.
Of the 76 countries with full democracy, according to the Economist’s Index of Democracy in 2018, 54 refused to recognize the last presidential election in Venezuela. The countries that recognized it were categorized as authoritarian and hybrid regimes.
Before January 10, the countries of the world are preparing to take decisive actions. It should be remembered that at the beginning of November, the Lima Group, made up of 14 countries in the region, announced that they will take firm measures before Maduro’s reelection.
European governments have also ruled on the illegitimacy of Maduro. Josep Borrell, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Spain, said that the European Union only recognizes the legitimacy of Nicolás Maduro’s mandate until January 10, 2019.
Countries that could grant asylum to the Maduro regime
After the article published on Monday, December 3, different options remain in play with regard to which countries could grant protection to the regime of Nicolás Maduro in the eventuality that he is forced to leave power.
With the arrival of AMLO, Mexico becomes a potential nation for senior officials in Venezuela to seek asylum.
But in addition to Mexico, there are also governments in the region that have been allied with the dictatorship in Venezuela which may be willing to grant political asylum to Chavez.
Such is the case in Bolivia with the government of Evo Morales, which is currently seeking to perpetuate itself in power and which currently enjoys a close relationship with the Venezuelan dictatorship, to the point of defending it in international bodies such as the UN and the OAS.
Another country in the region that would be willing to protect Venezuelan officials would be Daniel Ortega’s regime in Nicaragua, which has also shown affinity to Nicolás Maduro.
Ortega has been the subject of sanctions from the United States government and is also described as a dictator in his country after recent grave human rights violations;. Both Ortega and Maduro have shared common electoral methods for stealing elections.
The Cuban government has also emerged as a strong ally of the dictatorship in Venezuela, providing advice and military intelligence to help keep Maduro in power.
Other nations willing to come to the aid of Maduro would likely include Turkey, North Korea, Russi,a and even China, which have signed recent trade agreements with the dictatorship in Venezuela. However, it seems that the latter only maintain their support for Nicolás Maduro out of pure economic interest.
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