Donald Trump threatens military intervention in Venezuela under the pretext of combating drug trafficking in the face of the silence of the majority of the international community. Spain remained in the background as tensions rose by the United States, which, in addition to warning against ground attacks, acknowledged the killing of drug boat survivors – a war crime. After Trump heightened tensions by asserting that he would put an end to “those whores,” Foreign Minister José Manuel Albarez spoke for the first time and said that “the crisis in Venezuela” must be resolved “by peaceful means.”
The response of the head of Spanish diplomacy upon his arrival at the meeting of NATO ministers in Brussels, which the US Secretary of State will not attend for the first time in decades, was very measured and always avoided explicitly referring to Trump’s threats. Albarez called for “a democratic solution, above all, through a real Venezuelan dialogue.”
He added: “You will never find Spain raising any fire towards a sister country in Latin America, whatever it may be. Spain will always be on the side of dialogue, peace and democratic solutions. What we want for the Venezuelan people, just as we want for all the brother peoples of Latin America, is the same thing we want for the Spanish people: peace, democracy and social justice.”
Therefore, Albarez practically limits the Venezuela issue to the internal political crisis of Nicolas Maduro. Neither Spain nor the European Union nor the United States recognized the results of the 2024 elections. He said: “I believe that what we all should aspire to for the sake of the Venezuelan people is to find a democratic solution to their crisis, through dialogue and negotiation among Venezuelans.” But the blockade includes the closure of airspace, affecting companies, including Iberia.
Pressure from Somar in the face of Trump’s threat
When asked whether he believed NATO countries would support US military intervention, Minister Balla responded by emphasizing that this issue was “not within the scope of NATO and NATO actions, and will not be discussed at this time,” but chose a position that was “respectful of international law and peaceful.”
In the same vein, Pedro Sanchez said on Tuesday that international law must be adhered to “in Gaza, Ukraine, and Sudan.” “Let’s see what happens in Venezuela,” the president said indirectly in an interview on RAC1. Even then, the issue was out of orbit, although Albarez stressed that Venezuela is “one of the issues that takes up the most time” in his days.
For his part, the minority partner in the coalition, Somar, is increasing pressure on Moncloa and the Foreign Ministry in the face of the lukewarm response it provides to what they consider a “violation of international law” in Venezuela due to the threat to its sovereignty by closing its airspace as well as the integrity of its territory. In a parliamentary question recorded by the International Federation’s spokesman, Enrique Santiago, and other representatives from Somar, they called on the government to adopt “appropriate diplomatic measures” within the European Union and NATO in the face of what they warn could entail “dangerous global destabilization.”