Julio Borges’ warning: Sánchez’s government has been held hostage by Zapatero, Maduro’s foreign minister

The president-elect Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia landed on Sunday in the Torrejón de Ardoz Air Base (Madrid) to begin his exile in Spain facing the threat of being arrested by the regime Nicolas Madurowhile the opposition leader, Maria Corina Machado, remains in Venezuela and assured on his X account that “this fight is until the end and victory is ours.”

To the Venezuelans,

Edmundo González Urrutía, President-elect of Venezuela, has left the country and is in Spain.

Since our historic victory on July 28, 2024, the regime has unleashed a brutal wave of repression against all citizens,…

— Maria Corina Machado (@MariaCorinaYA) September 8, 2024

Julio Borgesformer president of the National Assembly of Venezuela, is another great opposition figure who keeps the battle for justice alive from abroad. The Venezuelan politician and lawyer has given an interview to The Debate to analyze the latest attacks of the Maduro regime and talk about what awaits Venezuela now that the president-elect has left the country.

—What does the departure of Edmundo González Urrutia mean for the future of Venezuela?

—First of all, this situation is not surprising. Edmundo González, María Corina Machado and almost the entire leadership have been subjected to criminal persecution since July 28, after the enormous victory of the Venezuelan people over the dictatorship. In Edmundo’s case, as he was the winning candidate, the persecution has been brutal: the dictatorship’s justice system has investigated him, summoned him to testify, issued an arrest warrant for him and a few days ago Maduro’s own prosecutor publicly condemned him. Just yesterday we saw how the regime withdrew the permission to guard the Argentine diplomatic headquarters from a leftist government like that of Brazil, which leaves the door open for Maduro to enter the Argentine Embassy and arrest six collaborators of Edmundo and María Corina. So the entire leadership is under siege and Edmundo’s departure is understandable, given Maduro’s level of violence.

It must also be said that behind this departure from the country of Edmundo González is the hand of Rodríguez Zapatero and the government of Pedro Sanchezwho are once again whitewashing Maduro. Instead of telling Maduro to stop the repression against Edmundo and María Corina Machado, what they did was a complete triangulation to help the dictatorship exile opponents. However, I am optimistic and I believe that Edmundo’s departure has to serve so that he himself heads an international crusade to put more pressure on the entire power block in Venezuela and to finally fracture the rotten dictatorship of Maduro.

«Behind Edmundo González’s departure is the hand of Zapatero and the Sánchez government, who are once again whitewashing Maduro» Julio Borges. Former President of the National Assembly of Venezuela.

—What will happen on January 10th when the exchange of powers will take place?

—We must apply all internal and external pressure so that before January 10, Edmundo González returns to Venezuela and is sworn in as president, as the Constitution mandates. He doubled Maduro’s votes and the world and the people know it well. To do so, we must relaunch the street protests and that is what María Corina Machado is doing, whom I praise even more today for her courage and her fighting spirit in Venezuela. But it is also necessary for all democracies to understand that more pressure is required; it is essential to join the denunciation of the International Criminal Court and universal jurisdiction, so that arrest warrants are issued against Maduro and his accomplices. On the other hand, personal sanctions must be reinstated with greater force against family members and accomplices of this dictatorship. And, finally, the entire world left must distance itself from Maduro and classify him as what he is: a dictator who is supported by Russia, China, Cuba and Iran.

—What role should Spain play in the future of Venezuela?

—The government of Pedro Sánchez has been held hostage by the agenda of José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, who is a kind of foreign minister for Maduro, not just now, but for several years now. I say this with experience, I was in the negotiations in the Dominican Republic where Zapatero was a mediator and I can say that he always worked to weaken the opposition’s demands regarding democracy and strengthen the dictatorship. If Pedro Sánchez wants to save his name from this, he has to clarify Zapatero’s role in Spain’s foreign policy towards Venezuela, lead the European bloc against Maduro as Spain should have done, and he must initiate investigations against all the front men of the regime who live like kings in Spain thanks to Maduro’s corruption. Give all the space to Edmundo González to continue fighting for the freedom of Venezuela.

We ask Sánchez to recognize Edmundo González as the president-elect, who won the elections on July 28. This is a political issue that must be expressed with that recognition.

—What role do you think Zapatero has played and is playing in the negotiations between the Chavista regime and the government?

—It must be said that he has been the architect of everything that has been forged, his silence since July 28 indicated to us that he was involved in something macabre and Edmundo’s departure from Venezuela confirms this for us. Zapatero has too many interests at stake in Venezuela, he has become a kind of foreign minister/advisor to Maduro.

Once again, Zapatero will come out to claim his position as mediator and to say that thanks to him Edmundo is safe and prisoners were released in Venezuela; no one should fall for this farce in Spain. All this is a ruse to rob him of the historic victory that the people, María Corina and Edmundo achieved on July 28. But they will not succeed.

“We ask Sánchez to recognize Edmundo González as the winner of the elections” – Julio Borges. Former President of the National Assembly of Venezuela.

—What is the way forward for Venezuela?

—María Corina Machado will continue to lead the process as she has done in an extraordinary way. She is the undisputed leader of the opposition and I believe that what has happened vindicates more the courage, determination and mystique of the struggle that she leads. Now, what has to come now is an escalation of pressure from the entire world against Maduro. We must respond to him in the same terms with which he acts, calling him a dictator and treating him as such.

More pressure must be put on the ICC. The Uruguayan government has already joined the process and 31 former presidents have also sent a communication to the prosecutor. This process must inevitably lead to arrest warrants against Maduro and his inner circle. But countries can also use universal jurisdiction to prosecute corrupt officials and human rights violators in Venezuela.