Recently released Venezuelan diplomat Alex Saab (left) and Venezuelan far-right politician MarĂa Corina Machado (right). Photo: El Diario Tricolor.
Caracas (OrinocoTribune.com)—Venezuela’s Deputy Minister of Anti-Blockade Policies William Castillo has stated that far-right politician MarĂa Corina Machado’s attempt to hide the opposition’s participation in the negotiations between the United States and the Venezuelan government to release kidnapped diplomat Alex Saab “is like eating without ingesting food.”
President Nicolás Maduro’s administration has recently achieved significant political victories, resulting in the release of Venezuelan diplomat Alex Saab. President Maduro publicly recognized the role of Gerardo Blyde, head of the opposition’s negotiation team in the Barbados Agreement (previously Mexico Talks), in achieving the diplomat’s liberation. The president’s comments exposed the intentions of the Venezuelan far-right opposition that has been trying to hide its participation in the release of Alex Saab.
Nos involucramos sin ser parte de ella… Es como comer sin ingerir alimentos. Vestirse sin ponerse ropa y bañarse sin usar agua y jabĂłn.
No te vistas, que no fuiste. https://t.co/xI9nflirTB
— William Castillo BollĂ© (@planwac) December 24, 2023
For most Venezuelans, the liberation of Alex Saab is a victory of Chavismo against US imperialism. However, for supporters of the Venezuelan far-right opposition, it represents a significant defeat. No one in the Venezuelan opposition “leadership” seems to acknowledge their participation, not even indirectly, in Saab’s liberation. Yet Saab’s release was agreed upon in the complimentary agreements of the government-opposition dialogue in Barbados.
On December 21, Machado released a statement addressing the liberation of Alex Saab. The statement, full of far-right narratives against President Maduro’s administration and discussions of “political prisoners,” does recognize the opposition’s role in the Barbados agreements. Despite many parabolical zigzagging, Machado admitted that although she was not part of the negotiations between the US and the Venezuelan government, the opposition was involved in the liberation of Alex Saab “to contribute to achieving the objective of ‘free elections.'”
In response to Machado’s contradictory statement avoiding taking responsibility for the opposition’s actions, Minister Castillo wrote in a sarcastic Twitter post on Saturday, December 23, “We get involved without being part of it… It is like eating without ingesting food. Getting dressed without putting on clothes, and bathing without using soap and water.”
While Venezuela’s far-right opposition is unsuccessfully trying to find a path that might allow them to finally defeat Chavismo, the Maduro administration has scored significant political victories in recent months. These victories include the undisputable economic recovery of Venezuela, the Essequibo referendum, the Summit of Argyle (St. Vincent and the Grenadines) with the Guyanese president and, most recently, the liberation of Alex Saab.
Special for Orinoco Tribune by staff
OT/JRE/SF/SC
