Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro (left) and Paraguayan President Santiago Peña (right). Photo: La Nación (Paraguay).
Caracas (OrinocoTribune.com)—The foreign minister for Venezuela, Yván Gil, has reported that the president of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro, and the president of Paraguay, Santiago Peña, have made an agreement on resuming diplomatic and consular relations between both nations.
The announcement was made this Wednesday, November 15, through a statement published via Gil’s social media reporting that Venezuela and Paraguay, following talks between the nations’ presidents, are resuming ties and will proceed to share the accreditations of their respective ambassadors in the coming days.
The Venezuelan statement notes “both parties have committed to restarting bilateral relations with full respect for the fundamental principles of equal rights, self-determination of peoples, non-interference in internal affairs of other states, and solidarity.”
#Comunicado Los Presidentes Nicolás Maduro Moros de Venezuela y Santiago Peña de Paraguay, han decidido reestablecer las relaciones diplomáticas y consulares entre ambas naciones. pic.twitter.com/BkWJ6UDVxR
— Yvan Gil (@yvangil) November 15, 2023
Below, you can read the unofficial translation of the statement:
The Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela and the Republic of Paraguay announce that, after conversations between Presidents Nicolás Maduro Moros and Santiago Peña, both leaders have decided to resume diplomatic relations and consular services between both nations, as well as the reciprocal accreditation of ambassadors in the coming days.
In this regard, both parties have committed to restart bilateral relations with total respect for the fundamentals principles of equal rights, self-determination of the peoples, non-interference in the internal affairs of others states and solidarity; also based on the principles of Latin American integration and unity.
In this new stage of renewed relationship both governments express their interest in advancing in good coexistence that allows us to consolidate good relationships between states and preserve the natural friendship and solidarity between our peoples.
Caracas, November 15, 2023
The Paraguayan Ministry for Foreign Affairs has published a statement very similar to that written by Venezuela, although notably without any mention to Latin American unity. This is a principle long rejected by the various Latin American forces that play to the interest of foreign powers, in particular those of the Global North, contrary to the principles of unity established by SimĂłn BolĂvar and JosĂ© de San MartĂn, the regional independence heroes.
History of submission to Washington
Since the attempted and failed US “regime change” operation against President Nicolás Maduro and the forces of Chavismo, via the now-extinct Lima Group, Paraguay and its right-wing governments have unsuccessfully attempted to destabilize Maduro’s administrations through targeted diplomatic isolation, intervention in internal affairs, and support to initiatives like former deputy GuaidĂł’s so-called “interim government.”
President Maduro Speaks with Paraguayan President-Elect Peña
The Paraguayan state oil company Petropar currently holds a debt of over $360 million to Venezuela’s publicly-owned oil company PDVSA (Petróleos de Venezuela SA). In addition, the former president of Paraguaya, Mario Abdo, was involved in a corruption scandal in 2021 as a result of a shady agreement he entered into former Venezuelan deputy and known US asset Juan Guaidó, wherein he agreed to pay only $100 of the $360 million debt, when Guaidó was attempting to portray himself as Venezuela’s head of state.
The arrival of Santiago Peña to the presidency of Paraguay last August marked a turning point in bilateral relations, to the extent that the two countries are now proceeding to name their respective ambassadors. The agreement has arisen from “conversations” between Peña and Maduro, according to a joint statement.
Peña does come from the same political party of Mario Abdo, the far-right Colorado Party, but during his presidential campaign, he promised that he would seek to re-establish relations with Venezuela. This may have influenced his popularity at a time when the prices of oil began to rise internationally following the start of the war in Ukraine.
Special for Orinoco Tribune by staff
OT/JRE/AU
