Reactions after Maduro’s “Great Victory” in Venezuela

US applies new sanctions: Venezuela, increasingly isolated after elections

HAVANA TIMES – Venezuela is increasingly isolated internationally after numerous countries refused to recognize the results of the elections held on Sunday.  Likewise, US president Trump  signed an executive order to limit the capacity of the Maduro government to sell off the country’s assets.

The measure by the US came a day after the elections in which Maduro was re-elected, virtually unopposed, and whose results the European Union had promised to ignore even before its conclusion.

In addition, the Lima Group, made up of important American countries such as Canada, Mexico and Brazil, decided to “reduce the level of diplomatic relations with Venezuela” and call home for consultations their respective ambassadors in Caracas.

Maduro did receive congratulations and support from his closest allies, Cuba, Bolivia and Nicaragua. The following are the country by country reactions to his reelection through 2025.

USA: The executive order signed by Trump that limits the Venezuelan government’s ability to sell state assets includes a ban on US citizens and businesses from buying all kinds of debt from the Maduro government, among other assets.

Shortly before, the Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, said in a statement: “These so-called ‘elections’ are an attack on the constitutional order and an affront to the tradition of democracy in Venezuela.” For his part, Vice President Mike Pence said the elections were a “farce.” He also warned that his country will not be “passive” while Venezuela “falls apart.”

LIMA GROUP: The members of the Lima Group (Mexico, Canada, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Guyana, Honduras, Argentina, Panama, Paraguay, Peru and Saint Lucia) agreed to call their respective ambassadors in Caracas home for consultations.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Mexico indicated that he will alert the financial sector in his country about “the risk” of carrying out operations with the Government of Maduro without the endorsement of the National Assembly, and announced that Mexico will reduce “to a minimum “Bilateral cooperation activities,” including military “.

The Brazilian government, meanwhile, “deeply regrets that the Venezuelan government has ignored the repeated calls of the international community to hold free, fair, transparent and democratic elections,” said a statement issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The Colombian government noted “the lack of international standards for a free and fair democratic process.” Foreign Minister, Maria Angela Holguin, described as a “sad situation” that masses of Venezuelans move around the continent seeking refuge.

Chilean president Sebastian Pinera, insisted on his previous criticisms. From Valparaiso, he said the results “do not represent the true feeling of the free and sovereign opinion of the people of Venezuela.”

On Sunday, when inaugurating the meeting of foreign ministers of the G20 in Buenos Aires, Argentine president, Mauricio Macri, criticized the elections, which he considered a sham.

GERMANY: Foreign Minister, Heiko Maas, harshly criticized Maduro’s victory. “It was not the free, fair and transparent elections that the Venezuelan people deserved,” said the politician at the meeting of G20 ministers in Buenos Aires.

SPAIN: The country will study together with other EU countries “the appropriate measures” after the elections. The head of the Spanish Government, Mariano Rajoy, said today through Twitter that in the Venezuelan elections “the minimum democratic standards were not respected” and that his country “will continue working to alleviate the suffering of Venezuelans.”

COSTA RICA: The Government of San Jose affirmed that it does not recognize the legitimacy of the elections. “This process has been flawed since its genesis and did not meet the international standards of a pluralistic, free, democratic and transparent electoral process,” the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

Support for Maduro

CUBA: Former Cuban President Raul Castro and his successor, Miguel Diaz-Canel, congratulated Maduro for his “overwhelming electoral victory,” according to official Cuban media reports. The Venezuelan government is Cuba’s leading political and economic ally.

“I send you the most fraternal congratulations for your convincing victory in the presidential elections,” Diaz-Canel wrote in his message to the Venezuelan leader. For his part, Raul Castro, who heads the all-powerful Communist Party of Cuba, highlighted the “transcendental electoral victory” on Sunday in the elections.

NICARAGUA: Embattled president Daniel Ortega also hailed Maduro’s triumph, which he described as a “great victory for peace and employment.”

“At the conclusion of this immense battle with a great victory, (we salute you) from this Nicaragua of (Augusto) Sandino, of (Ruben) Dario and of the humble and hard-working people here who want peace and claim the right to recover and secure it, as well as the stability we had, “said Ortega referring to the crisis his government faces.

BOLIVIA: President Evo Morales, congratulated Maduro on Sunday for his re-election, which he wrote as a victory against “coups and interventionism of the US empire.”

EL SALVADOR: Salvadoran President Salvador Sanchez Ceren, of the Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front (FMLN), acknowledged Maduro’s electoral triumph and affirmed that “the social transformations initiated by Commander Hugo Chávez will not stop and will continue to benefit millions of Venezuelans “.