Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro suspended his activity on social media as his government reportedly is seeking a diplomatic solution to a reignited political crisis in Venezuela.
The president hasn’t published anything on social media platform X since Saturday, the day before the reelection of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro that has been marred by fraud allegations.
Foreign Minister Luis Gilberto Murillo appears to have taken the lead in making public statements and has maintained “permanent contact” with Venezuela’s government and opposition.
At the same time, local media have reported, the foreign ministry has been talking with the governments of Brazil and Mexico about a joint response to the crisis.
The governments of the leftist Latin American bloc have reportedly also maintained contact with the government of the United States, one of Maduro’s fiercest opponents.
Like Washington DC, Bogota, Brasilia and Mexico City have refused to recognize the outcome of the Venezuelan elections until the publication of the results and the verification of these results by international observers.
Venezuela’s election authority, which declared Maduro the winner on Sunday, has so far refused to publish the tally sheets that would prove Maduro’s victory.
The Venezuelan opposition did publish copies of tally sheets of approximately 75% of the polling stations online.
According to opposition leader Marina Corina Machado, these documents show that her coalition’s candidate, Edmundo Gonzalez, won the elections.
On Monday morning, Murillo called on Venezuela’s electoral council to “proceed with the final count, its verification and independent audit” of the election results.
Hours later, as protests began erupting throughout Venezuela, the Foreign Ministry urged to “preserve the peace, prioritize transparent and guaranteed dialogue” while Maduro and the opposition seek “institutional and democratic agreements over the current electoral situation in the country.”
Colombia, as part of the international community, will be ready to support the necessary efforts to guarantee peace, stability and the deepening of democracy in the region.
Venezuela’s foreign ministry expelled the ambassadors of Latin American countries that outright accused Maduro of fraudulently winning the elections.