Maduro’s government summons the Spanish ambassador to Venezuela and calls its representative in Madrid for consultations

Diplomatic tensions between Venezuela and Spain have escalated following the departure into exile in Madrid of opposition leader Edmundo González Urrutia. The foreign minister of Nicolás Maduro’s government, Yván Gil, has recalled his ambassador in Madrid, Gladys Gutiérrez, for consultations and has summoned the Spanish ambassador in Caracas, Ramón Santos, for this Friday in his office at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The measure was announced after days of growing tension and following statements by the Spanish Minister of Defense, Margarita Robles, who described Maduro’s government as a “dictatorship” while recalling the exile of millions of people. Gil made the announcement on her Telegram channel, in which she described the Spanish minister’s statements as “insolent, interventionist and rude.” She also stated that they “point to a deterioration of relations between the two countries.” The tension has tightened hours after Pedro Sánchez received González Urrutia at the Moncloa. In addition, the Congress of Deputies approved a few days ago an exhortation to the Spanish Executive to recognize the candidate González Urrutia as the elected and legitimate president, after the questioning of the results of the elections in which Maduro was proclaimed and about which there are serious suspicions of fraud reported by independent observers and even by the main rector of the National Electoral Council (CNE).

The head of the National Assembly, Jorge Rodríguez, responded harshly to the vote of the Spanish Congress to support the opposition leader who last Sunday landed in Madrid forced into exile and who will be granted asylum. Rodríguez, one of Maduro’s most trusted leaders, asked the Executive to break diplomatic, commercial and consular relations. “Let all representatives of the Spanish Government leave, let those flights end,” he said.

But Rodríguez is not the only one who is Maduro’s main political operator. Months ago, from the Legislative Palace, he ordered the revocation of the invitation of the European observers and the government immediately carried it out. This time, however, the high-sounding declarations did not lead to the breaking of relations.

Earlier, Spain’s Minister of Economy, Trade and Enterprise, Carlos Cuerpo, called for calm in the face of the crisis in the face of the suspension of trade relations with Venezuela. Some 60 Spanish companies operate in the Caribbean country – including the oil company Repsol, which recently signed agreements – and more than 136,000 citizens of that country reside there. “We will try to protect our companies and investments and keep relations as predictable as possible for their interests,” he said.