European Union election experts met with Venezuela’s Minister of Defense and the President of the Supreme Court on Wednesday (July 13), when the opposition demanded the release of a top leader accused of terrorism and treason.
At the invitation of President Nicolas Maduro, EU representatives arrived in Venezuela a week ago to study the possibility of sending a delegation to observe the election of mayors and governors in November.
Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino said on Twitter: “On the eve of the next major election in Venezuela, a pleasant meeting was held with the European Union Election Exploration Group.”
On the eve of the next major election in Venezuela, I had a pleasant meeting with the European Union Election Exploration Mission. We reaffirmed our democratic mission and FANB’s basic role as a guarantor of peace. The people will vote! pic.twitter.com/uTXEiai85q
-Vladimir Padrino L. (@vladimirpadrino) July 14, 2021
“We reiterated our appeal for democracy and the basic role (the armed forces) played in safeguarding peace.”
Despite pressure from the opposition and international sanctions, the Venezuelan Armed Forces are the main authority supporting Maduro’s continued power.
Earlier, the EU delegation met with the leadership of the Supreme Court.
“Our goal is peace and respect for the will of the people,” the president of the court, Michael Moreno, said in a statement issued by the agency, which is dominated by Maduro’s supporters.
The EU has not yet responded to AFP’s request for comment on the meeting.
It is not clear whether the issue of Monday’s arrest of the opposition figure Freddie Guevara was discussed. Guevara was part of the opposition group that met with the EU delegation last week.
Guevara, a 35-year-old former student leader, posted on social media from inside the car when he was intercepted by intelligence officers on the Caracas highway.
He is a close ally of opposition leader Juan Guaido, and is recognized as the leader of Venezuela by the United States and several other countries.
Although the opposition planned to sit down with the government to discuss deadlocked peace negotiations to end the country’s political crisis, Che Guevara was arrested.
Maduro said on Monday that these talks to be held in Mexico will only continue when international sanctions are lifted, and that he will not be subject to any conspiracy to oust him.
Most European and Latin American countries, as well as the United States, consider Maduro illegal after extensive reports of irregularities in the 2018 elections.
The EU considers the 2015 legislative elections to be “the last free expression of Venezuelans in the electoral process”, in which the opposition controls the legislature.
The opposition lost control of the parliament last year after boycotting the election, which said it was neither free nor fair.
