Panama rules out reestablishing relations with the Venezuelan government headed by Delcy Rodríguez and will continue to recognize Edmundo González as president-elect until there are new elections in the country, Panamanian Foreign Minister Javier Martínez-Acha assured EFE in an interview this Tuesday.
“We keep the minutes that certify the victory of Edmundo González in the elections of July 28 (2024) in the vaults of the National Bank. One must be consistent with one’s decisions, so we continue to recognize Edmundo González“, declared the minister.
Martínez-Acha, who is on an official visit to India, declared that reestablishing diplomatic relations in the short term “is not on the agenda,” even despite the United States’ support for Rodríguez’s interim presidency.
Panama aspires “to In a short period of time there will be democratic elections with guarantees and a government of Venezuelans will be elected in a transparent manner. And thus Venezuela joins the community of Latin American nations of the world,” he said.
On Monday, United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio, whose country has controlled Venezuela since January, announced that the processes for the democratic transition in the South American nation would begin in August.
“We feel that the democratic solution in Venezuela that the United States and Secretary Rubio wish to implement must be accompanied by support from democratic countries in the region. Thus, the internal actors will give confidence. That path must be built, with solid electoral requests and a transformation of different actors and internal entities in Venezuela,” declared the Panamanian foreign minister.
At the end of May, the president of Panama, José Raúl Mulino, and the Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado They had already held a meeting in the Central American country in which they discussed holding new elections.
Despite not recognizing the government of Delcy Rodríguez, Martínez-Acha assured that Panama maintains consular relations with Venezuela and that it was one of the first countries to send humanitarian aid after the double earthquake that devastated that country on June 24.
