The Spanish Government on Monday rejected an eventual foreign military intervention in Venezuela, in light of several media reports on the deployment of US forces on the border with Colombia.
In statements to reporters in Brussels, Belgium, Spanish Foreign Minister Josep Borrell expressed concern about the news on the presence of US soldiers on the Colombian-Venezuelan border.
‘Certainly we are concerned about a military deployment by the US army on the border between Colombia and Venezuela, according to news to be confirmed,’ Borrell said upon arrival at a meeting with his peers from the European Union (EU).
According to the head of Spanish diplomacy, the situation in Venezuela ‘cannot be solved through a foreign military intervention’.
This is news still to be confirmed, but we are very worried,’ Borrell noted in allusion to the hypothetical deployment of US troops.
After calling to prevent a military escalation by all means, Borrell warned that ‘in light of the (interventions) that have been carried out in the past, the cure can be worse than the disease and there are cases that proved it’.
He pointed out that the EU is a ‘moderation’ force, so it cannot back up a solution that includes the armed way’.
The Spanish foreign minister, whose government recognized the opposition leader Juan Guaido as the president ‘in charge’ of Venezuela, insisted that the path to be taken by the EU should be ‘political pressure and dialogue for a change without clashes that would be catastrophic’.
‘It is more difficult and perhaps slower, but yesterday in Munich, the issue was discussed and, frankly, it concerned me and I cannot support the stance produced by the US vice president,’ he stressed.
Borrell made it clear that Spain cannot join the request launched by the United States on Sunday for the EU to recognize Guaido, the speaker of the National Assembly in contempt, as the ‘elected’ president.
He was referring to the demand made on Sunday at the Security Conference in Munich by US Vice President Mike Pence, who demanded that the Venezuelan opposition leader be recognized ‘as a president already elected’.
‘It is clear that the stance by Spain and the EU is to recognize Guaido as the president in charge, interim. We have to act according to standards, we cannot accept the US request,’ he stressed.