RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The arrival to the Presidency of Peru of leftist Pedro Castillo and the Peru Libre party anticipates a change of position on Venezuela that would bring the founding country of the Lima Group closer to the orbit of the International Contact Group, which seeks a solution to the Venezuelan crisis through dialogue.
This was hinted at on Monday by Peru’s new Minister of Foreign Affairs, Héctor Béjar, who said that the Peruvian government’s policy would be against unilateral sanctions and blockades, about the restrictions imposed by the United States against the government of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.
“Venezuela is a country that is blockaded. We will contribute with the countries of Europe, which are already working on this, and with a group of Latin American countries, in understanding the various political tendencies that exist in Venezuela, without intervening in its internal politics,” said Béjar.
“We will favor a democratic renewal in Venezuela that respects the social rights of Venezuelans”, added the new Peruvian Foreign Minister in declarations to journalists after receiving the Foreign Affairs portfolio from his predecessor, Allan Wagner.
HE IGNORES GUAIDÓ’S EMISSARY
Regarding the future of the Lima Group, promoted five years ago by former Peruvian President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski (2016-2018) to bring together a group of American countries that consider Maduro as an illegitimate president, Béjar pointed out that there are already several countries in this group that have already changed their position on Venezuela.
“The Lima Group has its partners that have changed their policy, and their views are different. We will talk with them about their points of view,” he said.
Asked if he plans to meet with Carlos Scull, appointed as Venezuela’s “ambassador” to Peru by opposition leader Juan Guaidó, Béjar said he does not know him.
“I don’t know who that gentleman is. I don’t know him,” spat Béjar, an 85-year-old former guerrilla who came to know Ernesto ‘Che’ Guevara in Cuba and was in Peru’s National Liberation Army (ELN) before being arrested in 1966 and imprisoned for nearly five years.
From his recent meeting with his Venezuelan counterpart, Jorge Arreaza, who traveled to Lima to attend Castillo’s investiture, Béjar pointed out that both countries should work together on the large community of Venezuelans living in Peru, which is close to one million.
HE RESERVES HIS OPINION ON MADURO
Asked if he considers that Venezuela is a dictatorship, the Peruvian Foreign Minister preferred not to express an opinion and recalled that his duty as Foreign Minister is “to improve relations with Venezuela and Colombia, Chile, Brazil, and all the countriesin the region.”
“Our concern is that the rights of marginalized people are respected not only in Venezuela but in Peru and many other countries and that the level of social welfare improves,” he added.
On the recent protests in Cuba, Béjar commented that “in all countries, there are people in the streets” and recalled the demonstration called on Sunday in Lima by right-wing sectors against the government-appointed by Castillo.
“The conditions are different, but each country has its internal problems. We have no reason to interfere in internal affairs,” he said.
“Our policy is to defend human rights. We are against repression in Peru and all countries. Our policy has to be democratic. There must be dialogue and not confrontation. We aspire that the peoples’ dialogue and that they do not confront each other or establish conflicting policies,” he concluded.