Venezuela is no country for do-gooders

Miguel Ángel Benedicto, professor of International Relations at the Complutense University of Madrid, and president of the organisation ‘Ideas y Debate,’ spoke on Onda Madrid's programme ‘De cara al mundo’ about how Edmundo González, while at the Spanish ambassador's residence in Caracas, signed a document recognising Maduro's victory in the Venezuelan elections under coercion from the Rodríguez brothers. He also analysed Venezuela's role on the international chessboard.  

Miguel Ángel, I read in your article ‘Venezuela is no country for do-gooders,’ published in The Objective: ‘Venezuela is following the path of Cuba and Nicaragua, dictatorships that impose terror by means of threats, prison, torture and, if necessary, murder. More than 2,000 people have been imprisoned and 24 have been killed by the socialist regime. It is no wonder that the brutality of Maduro's authoritarianism frightens Venezuelans into fear of arrest, torture or execution and they end up leaving the country. The winner of the elections himself, Edmundo González Urrutia, had to take refuge in the Dutch Embassy and then seek asylum in Spain, weakening the opposition.’ I see from your article that you are noticeably clear about this, aren't you?  

Yes, Venezuela is a dictatorship. No one denies it, not even the Socialists who voted in the European Parliament against recognising Edmundo González as the elected president. No one denies that it has become a dictatorship. It is clear to all of us. It is a regime that threatens and murders.  

Edmundo González Urrutia has clearly seen that he was not the one predestined to be that president of Venezuela either. It was María Corina Machado, who was disqualified by Chavismo, in this case Maduro. And, by a twist of fate, it fell to him to win these elections, and he has been intimidated by the regime and, I suppose, threatened, especially by the daughter he has there. All this led him immediately to the Venezuelan Embassy to ask for asylum in Spain.  

The subsequent problems that have arisen will be used by Venezuela to divide Spain, the Spanish government, the opposition and even the European Parliament, just as it has done in Venezuela over the last few years, where the opposition has been very divided until the last year and a half or two.  

Of course, in addition to bringing chocolate and drinks, as Jorge Rodríguez says the ambassador did, who took the photos? Who made that recording? In other words, these people came in, to say the least, with hidden microphones to record everything that was happening there and there are photos, images of the ambassador, of Edmundo signing and Jorge Rodríguez, president of the Assembly, and the vice-president Delcy Rodríguez, better known for her suitcases at Barajas airport. They cannot be trusted.  

No, not. The strangest thing is that this espionage could have taken place inside the Spanish ambassador's residence in Caracas.  

Normally, when there are meetings of this kind, it is logical that mobiles, cameras, etc. are kept outside. I do not know what security oversight there may have been inside the Embassy itself, or that they were allowed to enter with mobile phones or any kind of recording. The Embassy has already suffered espionage because Chavismo is using the photos and even audio recordings of Edmundo González. And this is being used, as chavismo always does, to divide, in this case, the Spanish government, the Spanish opposition and the parties in the European Parliament.  

And all with the incredible mediation of José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, who continues to remain silent. Nobody explains what he is doing there. Or we should also think that a large part of the stability of Mr Sánchez's government depends not only on Puigdemont, Junts or PNV, but also on the votes of Sumar and Podemos. And we should remember that Mr Monedero was also in Caracas and that Podemos has a special relationship with the Chavista dictatorship, and they can also make their votes in Parliament depend on certain issues, right?  

Yes, Mr Sánchez needs the support of Podemos, Sumar and we have already seen how they have voted against this resolution in the European Parliament. We have seen Monedero dancing on electoral stages with Maduro and celebrating Maduro's clean victory in Venezuela. And we have kept Zapatero quiet.  

Since the minutes disappeared, he disappeared too. We have not heard or seen him again in any public place. We do not know what he does, or what he is doing there in Venezuela. I wish he were conducting some kind of negotiations to get rid of Mr Maduro. I hope so, but it is complicated because he has been remarkably close to the regime and, I do not know, collaborating with them at some point at a business level. 

And, furthermore, when José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero goes to or returns from Venezuela, he does not go directly from Madrid to Caracas, but from Caracas to the Dominican Republic or Madrid to the Dominican Republic and then from the Dominican Republic to Madrid or Caracas. And I know what I am talking about because I know how he makes those flights and the accompaniment, the protection he takes with him. Going back to the article, in it you say: ‘Chavismo is ready to close the totalitarian circle, unless the citizenry avoids it with a large dose of courage and sacrifice,’ right? 

Yes, that is the only chance left for Chavismo. I do not know to what extent international pressure is particularly important, but there are no signs of any kind of external military intervention either.  

The United States is not in favour, nor is any other country in the region, nor any institution or international organisation, the Venezuelan army is extremely complicated... They have a lot of privileges, completely bought off by the regime. You must bear in mind that Venezuela is the country with the most generals after the United States. If a general reveals himself to you, you will always have a few dozen around you who will prevent or be able to put out the fire, which strengthens Maduro's dictatorship. 

The only thing left is the possibility of civil society. Of course, it is quite easy to say from here, from Spain. ‘Well, take to the streets, defend democracy.’ How easy to say it from here, when perhaps if we were there what we would also do is go out, as several million Venezuelans have done, eight million to be precise in recent years. But it is the only solution. That there should be a kind of civil revolt, general strikes... All of this with a leadership that is clearly that of María Corina Machado in the country and that somehow paralyses and makes the military realise that this is no longer going any further.  

My hope lies with Venezuelan society, because despite international pressure it is exceedingly difficult, or the efforts that can also be made at the International Criminal Court, but this is also what is causing the Maduro regime to close. And we are increasingly seeing what Nicolás Maduro is like, what tends to happen in many dictatorships. When he is under pressure, he surrounds himself with the most loyal, the toughest people. We have already seen the Rodríguez brothers, Vladimir Padrino, the Minister of Defence, Diosdado Cabello... In other words, they are the toughest now, they are surrounded, but we must bear in mind that they have the support.  

They have been surrounded for years by the Russians and by the Cubans, who are the great advisors and protectors of Maduro's criminal government and who are determined to ensure that this regime does not fall. Let us think that Cuba also feeds on Venezuelan oil at zero cost and the fall of Maduro's regime would have negative economic repercussions. 

Gracias a la República Islámica de Irán por estar siempre acompañando a Venezuela, el pueblo venezolano les agradece el reconocimiento de una jornada electoral bonita, de democracia y ejercicio de la soberanía. Vamos con más integración, hermandad y cooperación mutua. https://t.co/c2tGu78kiu

— Nicolás Maduro (@NicolasMaduro) July 29, 2024

That was my next question, finally, how indeed the Cuban services are the ones personally protecting Maduro. The Russians have a lot of interests, Iranians.... Right now, the way the international chessboard is, you are, not surprised, but impressed by Israel's spectacular anti-terrorist operation against Hezbollah, but Venezuela also plays a role in the international chessboard, right? 

Yes, clearly. In fact, who are those who supported Maduro as soon as the first results were known? Russia, Cuba, Nicaragua, China, and Iran. In other words, the great democracies of the world. These are the regimes that have an interest in maintaining a dictatorship that can support them in that region of the world, to put a foot in that Latin American radical left to destabilise any democracy that might emerge in the surrounding area.