The decision of the Supreme Court of Justice (TSJ) of Venezuela, accused of serving Chavismo and certifying the reelection of Nicolás Maduro for a third six-year term —despite allegations of fraud by the opposition— has generated harsh reactions from the international community.
“We categorically reject the announcement by the Supreme Court of Justice (TSJ) of Venezuela, which indicated that it had concluded an alleged verification of the results of the electoral process of July 28, issued by the National Electoral Council (CNE), and that seeks to validate the unsupported results issued by the electoral body”the eleven countries expressed.
In a conversation with former Venezuelan deputy Gaby Arellano, he spoke about the court’s decision and questioned Colombian President Gustavo Petro and his Brazilian counterpart, Luis Ignacio Lula da Silva.
“The whole world wants to know if Petro and Lula are complicit in the fraud in Venezuela. Or if Petro and Lula will adhere to the precepts of democracy and freedom that they have preached so much in their political careers,” said the former deputy, who stated that the Colombian president’s statement on the Venezuelan court’s decision is key.
“Is Petro going to support state terrorism or will he act so that Nicolás Maduro begins the transition process? There can be no hesitation,” Arellano said.
He added: “If Petro validates the ruling of the Supreme Court of Justice of Venezuela, he told Colombians: get ready.”
“Mr. Gustavo Petro, there is no doubt that the people have expressed themselves and made it clear that Edmundo González Urrutia is the man who should be sworn in on January 10. His actions and his work should be focused on the recognition of González Urrutia, the recognition of the sovereign people of Venezuela, the clarity that the TSJ and the CNE and their spokesmen are instruments to sustain and prolong Maduro’s stay in Miraflores,” he said.
“Nicolás Maduro has no popular support. Maduro is left with only fear. Colombia has a key role as a state, as a nation and above all in its highest representative, Gustavo Petro, who cannot act according to ideological complicity. Petro cannot be the only one who supports a tyrant that the IACHR has labeled as responsible for state terrorism,” said the former deputy.
Arellano thanked former Colombian presidents, such as Iván Duque, Álvaro Uribe and Juan Manuel Santos, the entire “political spectrum” of the country has already spoken out against the certification of Maduro’s reelection.
“We are grateful not only to the former presidents but to the entire political spectrum of Colombia, the entire economic spectrum of Colombia that has been speaking out in favor of respecting popular sovereignty because here it is not support for María Corina Machado or Edmundo. It is the great majority of Venezuelans who demand the end of a system that has only brought hunger, migration, displacement, death and pain,” he said.
