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Venezuelan President Juan Guaidó began his second international tour by surprise. Here, he will seek support and formulate new strategies to pressure the ousting of Nicolás Maduro.
The tour will include at least four countries. Colombia is the first stop where he will attend the Hemispheric Summit for the Fight against Terrorism amidst the global threat that the regime of Nicolás Maduro has become due to its close relationship with Iran, Hezbollah, the ELN, and the FARC.
Guaidó has already met with Colombian President Iván Duque and U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. It was also announced that he would travel to Europe to participate in the World Economic Forum in Davos.
“We will create conditions that will lead us to freedom. And I assure you that the return to our country will be full of good news,” Guaidó said on his Twitter account.
Representative Armando Armas, president of the Permanent Committee on Foreign Policy, told the PanAm Post that “he could unfortunately not provide any details for security reasons” regarding the interim president’s agenda. However, it was revealed that he would also be visiting the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, France, and probably the United States.
Guaidó’s first international tour in 2019 was primarily focused on countries in the region. This time, he is visiting other allied countries, especially ones in Europe.
“Very productive meeting with the President of Venezuela, Juan Guaidó. We share the progress made in attending to migrants living in Colombia, and we emphasize the importance of reestablishing democracy in the neighboring country,” Duque wrote on Twitter after meeting the Venezuelan interim president.
“Key” meetings
The fact that Guaidó has left Venezuela to meet his counterparts and political leaders of the world raises high expectations regarding the new actions that will be taken to achieve the end of Nicolás Maduro’s regime.
The meeting with Duque ought to have been “key” in the framework of new measures and actions to pressure the tyranny, especially since Venezuela became a refuge for Colombian terrorist groups such as the FARC and the ELN.
Guaidó’s meeting with Mike Pompeo in Bogotá is another vital one. Since the cessation of the usurpation has not been achieved in 2019, new and robust measures are required to pressure Maduro’s fall.
Saludo oficial del presidente @jguaido ??, antes del inicio de la cumbre contra el terrorismo, al secretario de Edo @SecPompeo, al presidente @IvanDuque ?? y a las autoridades del gobierno de Colombia.
¡Venezuela cuenta con el apoyo y el reconocimiento del mundo libre! pic.twitter.com/x6qoGpqend
— Julio Borges (@JulioBorges) January 20, 2020
The interim president will take advantage of the World Economic Forum in Davos to hold high-level meetings with economic leaders around the world. He will also attend the Inter-Parliamentary Union in Brussels, Belgium, to meet his counterparts, Donald Trump and Emmanuel Macron.
Fuentes: cumbre Guaidó-Trump puede darse en el marco del Foro Económico Mundial de Davos, en Suiza.
— Casto Ocando-Primer Informe (@cocando) January 20, 2020
“Golden” opportunity
Guaidó’s second international tour could be pivotal in building alliances to pressure the exit of Nicolás Maduro. On the one hand, some view this as an opportunity to ask for an international military coalition to help overthrow the tyrannical regime and argue why it is necessary. Meanwhile, others believe that the solution should focus on requesting increased sanctions against the dictatorship.
Andrés Mezgravis, a lawyer, pointed out on Twitter that “military assistance must be requested, justified, and negotiated.” He added that “to have a more significant impact on the world, such a coalition must be requested publicly while the terms are negotiated privately.”
Sr. Borges, no basta con denunciar. Hace falta pedir, justificar y negociar la asistencia militar. Para que tenga mayor impacto ante el mundo, lo primero y lo segundo también se debe hacer PÚBLICAMENTE. Solo lo tercero —negociar— se hace en privado. https://t.co/kkSI4RwuNi
— Andrés A. Mezgravis SCO (@amezgravis) January 20, 2020
Diego Arria, former president of the United Nations Security Council, said that Guaidó’s tour “is an opportunity to expose the dimensions of our tragedy and open a window to what the prospects for rescuing prosperity would mean.” He reiterated that “the only way to remove Maduro from power is through the use of force.”
However, Duque’s statements after meeting with Guaidó continue to refer to a “credible transition” and “free and credible elections” as the solutions to the humanitarian crisis.
#20Ene Al referirse a la crisis humanitaria venezolana, el Presidente colombiano Iván Duque precisó que la solución sería una “transición creíble” y “elecciones libres y creíbles”.
Señaló la connivencia del régimen de Maduro con estructuras criminales. pic.twitter.com/oHqt0IhBZz
— Maibort Petit (@maibortpetit) January 20, 2020
