RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – On May 4, Paraguay ratified that it has no relations with the government of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and that it recognizes the opposition leader Juan Guaidó instead.
“We have no relations with the Maduro regime; that will not change,” the new Paraguayan foreign minister, Julio César Arriola, told ABC Cardinal radio.
The diplomat, who was sworn in today to replace Euclides Acevedo, who resigned to enter the electoral race for the Presidency, pointed out that his country supports Guaidó.
President Mario Abdo Benítez broke diplomatic relations with Venezuela and announced the closure of its embassy in Caracas in January 2019, after Maduro assumed his second term in office following an electoral process that Asunción brands as “illegitimate”.
Arriola made his statement a day after a delegation of Venezuelan deputies met with the Senate board, led by the president of the upper house, the pro-government Óscar Salomón.
Until now, the Foreign Minister ambassador of Asuncion to the United Nations clarified that the visit was made to “another power of the State” and cleared the Executive of any responsibility in this regard.
The arrival of the legislators took place at a time when the Administration of President Mario Abdo Benítez was facing social claims due to the increase in fuel prices.
In that sense, Arriola expressed his country’s interest in expanding its markets in search of fuels and dealing “with new partners”.
“We have to open our eyes to the world,” defended the Chancellor.
In addition, he anticipated that they would work in an “inter-institutional” manner in search of a solution to Caracas’ demand to Asunción for a debt of some US$300 million.
The debt dates back to 2009, when state-owned Petróleos Paraguayos (Petropar) began buying fuel from Petróleos de Venezuela (PDVSA).
With information from EFE