The European Union urged the international community to avoid any military intervention in Venezuela. “What is explicitly quite clear, from our point of view, is that we need a peaceful political and democratic and Venezuelan-owned resolution of this crisis,” Maja Kocijancic, the spokeswoman for EU head of diplomacy Federica Mogherini, said, adding that “this obviously excludes the use of force.” Spanish Foreign Minister Josep Borell also reiterated over the weekend that the EU would not support any foreign military intervention in the country that is battling with its own internal crisis.
Venezuela currently has two presidents, each fighting for its place in the sun. Opposition leader and self-declared president Juan Guaido is currently in talks with allies as part of the regional Lima Group. Mr. Guaido flew to Bogota, the Colombian capital, on Sunday for a meeting with members of the Lima Group – a grouping of 13 Latin American countries and Canada, which is trying to find a solution to Venezuela’s dire domestic situation. Venezuela has found itself in a deep domestic crisis that has taken toll on the Venezuelan population. The crisis began under the former President Hugo Chaves and continued under Nicolas Maduro resulting in hyperinflation, soaring hunger, disease, crime and death rates, and massive emigration from the country.
In the meantime, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo commented on the behalf of the US administration that he was confident that “Maduro’s days are numbered,” saying that the armed civilian loyalists known as “colectivos” were to blame for the violence. “We’re aimed at a singular mission – ensuring the Venezuelan people get the democracy they so richly deserve,” Mr. Pompeo stated. The US position is, however, such that a military intervention is not ruled out and Mr. Guaido himself called on the international community to consider any measure to “free Venezuela”.
