President Maduro's Milestones on the International Stage

By Mision Verdad – May 27, 2024

President Nicolás Maduro’s second presidential term, ending in 2024, has been a period in which the imminent failure of the strategy to isolate Venezuela from the outside world was evident despite a complex political scenario.

Regarding the diplomatic sphere and the international concert, the Venezuelan president’s efforts have focused on two fundamental objectives: to demonstrate the country’s unity in the campaign of international condemnation against the aggressions imposed on it, especially the actions of maximum pressure from the United States and its satellites, and to strengthen the path towards consolidating Venezuela as an energy power, thus, positioning itself in the new multipolar order.

In relation to these objectives, significant progress has been made.

Overcoming the diplomatic isolation of the Lima Group
The Lima Group, comprised of several of the region’s governments that were hostile towards Venezuela at the time, executed several initiatives that sought to isolate the country and pressure a change of government. However, the measures implemented, which included the non-recognition of Venezuelan institutions and the implementation of economic, political, and diplomatic sanctions, not only failed in their main objective but also had negative consequences for regional cooperation as a whole.

President Nicolás Maduro’s government managed to overcome the consequences of these actions, demonstrating that despite the regional boycott of cooperation with Caracas, international relations and global diplomacy went beyond the brotherhood of the “Western Hemisphere.” This perspective is based on the construction of multipolar and diverse international relations with emerging powers that have been consolidated by Venezuela since President Hugo Chávez’s government.

The dissolution of the Lima Group, driven by changes in the governments of its member countries, unquestionably reflects the failure of its isolation strategy. Meanwhile, Venezuela is moving forward by actively participating in regional initiatives such as the restructuring of UNASUR and the strengthening of CELAC. Regional support for the request to lift sanctions against Venezuela also highlights the country’s victory over foreign interference.

Strengthening the multipolar alliance and BRICS
This point is fully linked to the previous one. During the recent signing of the Agreement for the Promotion and Reciprocal Protection of Investments between China and Venezuela, Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodríguez pointed out that this was an achievement of President Nicolás Maduro’s visit to China in the last quarter of 2023.

#LoDijo | Vicepdta. Ejecutiva, @delcyrodriguezv: Firma del Acuerdo de Promoción y Protección Recíproca de Inversiones entre China y Venezuela es un logro de la visita al gigante asiático del Pdte. @NicolasMaduro el último trimestre de 2023.#22May pic.twitter.com/Jv2L6b5hra
— Vicepresidencia Vzla (@ViceVenezuela) May 22, 2024

The Eurasian region is presented as a space of political and financial transformation. Countries like Russia and China lead the creation of a new financial architecture that challenges the supremacy of the dollar and seeks to prevent exploitation and looting by the West. Pursuing its own path in this scenario, Venezuela has found these powers as strategic allies for economic development and strengthening its international position.

Coordination with these countries has been essential for Venezuela in times of great difficulty. Economic, financial, and commercial cooperation has been vital to alleviate the consequences of sanctions. Meanwhile, political collaboration has served to counteract pressure from some sectors. President Maduro’s international tours from 2018 to 2024 have consolidated these relationships, seeking to maximize ties in the economic and political sphere, positioning Venezuela as a relevant actor on the global stage with emphasis on its potential in the field of energy.

The next step in this direction is consolidating Venezuela’s entry into the BRICS+, a goal that has come closer with the country’s incorporation as a permanent guest at the summit held in South Africa in 2023. The continuity of President Maduro’s government, which orchestrated this incorporation, is fundamental to guarantee Venezuela’s integration into this bloc and the organic connection with the world’s new powers.

Strengthening of peace diplomacy
In an international context marked by intense siege by the United States that has included economic blockades, threats of military intervention, promotion of conspiracies, assassination attempts, and violations of territorial sovereignty, the Venezuelan government, under the direction of President Nicolás Maduro, has opted for peace diplomacy as the main tool to defend its interests.

Maduro has remained firm in his principle of political dialogue, seeking understanding and coexistence with his main antagonist, the United States, even in the face of extreme conditions. This has materialized in opening multiple negotiation channels, both in public dialogues with the Venezuelan opposition grouped in the Unitary Platform and in private conversations with the US government.

El documento de la Conferencia Nacional por el Diálogo, la Paz y la Convivencia, ratifica con la firma de todos los sectores del país los acuerdos de Barbados, además, exige firmemente el levantamiento de las sanciones criminales de manera permanente y total que pesa sobre el… pic.twitter.com/e2AZXeSjX3
— Nicolás Maduro (@NicolasMaduro) October 26, 2023

A significant example of this approach is the Barbados Agreement, signed in October 2023 between Venezuela and the United States. This treaty addresses issues such as lifting sanctions, migration, and political and diplomatic relations between the countries. Venezuela has fulfilled its commitments in this agreement, particularly concerning the establishment of an electoral schedule for the presidential elections with the participation of all political actors in the country.

Maduro’s peace diplomacy has also been tested in the dispute over the Essequibo territory. In this context, the United States, using the government of Irfan Ali and supporting the energy transnational ExxonMobil, has tried to exploit the territorial conflict to attack Venezuela and destabilize the region. President Maduro, however, has maintained a pacifist approach based on dialogue, a fundamental tool for resolving the dispute.

An example of this strategy is the meeting with his Guyanese counterpart, Irfan Ali, in December last year, which culminated in the publication of the Argyle Declaration. In this agreement, Guyana publicly agreed to return to the path of the Geneva Agreement and comply with the commitments made.

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Although the counterparts have failed to fulfill their commitments in both cases, with the continuing opposition conspiracies and the US refusal to lift the sanctions regime in the case of the Barbados Agreements and the US Southern Command’s provocations in the Essequibo territory, sponsored by Guyana, in the case of Argyle Declaration, the Venezuelan government has not renounced dialogue. President Maduro has turned this mechanism into an inalienable principle without diminishing his firmness and perseverance in defending Venezuela’s interests.

The prospects that open up at the international level with Nicolás Maduro’s re-election point extend beyond the country’s entry into forums of maximum global relevance, such as the BRICS+, to the consolidation of Venezuela as an independent strategic actor in the group of nations emerging as part of the new multipolar order in the making.

(Misión Verdad)

Translation: Orinoco Tribune

OT/JRE/SF