The Venezuelan government on Friday prevented four former Latin American presidents, known for their criticism of Nicolás Maduro's regime, from traveling to Caracas to serve as election observers on Sunday at the invitation of the opposition.
Flight CM-223 of Panama's Copa Airlines, carrying the ex-presidents to Venezuela, was unable to take off from Tocumen Airport due to "the closure of Venezuelan airspace," according to Panamanian President José Raúl Mulino X.
The group included former presidents Miguel Ángel Rodríguez (Costa Rica), Jorge Quiroga (Bolivia), Vicente Fox (Mexico), and Mireya Moscoso (Panama), all members of the Democratic Initiative of Spain and the Americas, a forum of right-wing former leaders. The delegation also included former Colombian Vice President Marta Lucía Ramírez.
The flight was allowed to depart only after the ex-presidents, who initially resisted, decided to disembark. They then moved to the Panamanian presidential palace, where they held a press conference criticizing Maduro.
"The plane was packed, completely packed, with Venezuelans going to vote on Sunday," Mireya Moscoso recounted. "We were in first class, and from the back of the plane, people stood up and started applauding. We said our goodbyes and saw tears, passengers crying, telling us: 'Please, stay, don't go!'"
The official campaign account of opposition leaders María Corina Machado and candidate Edmundo González noted, "Venezuelans on the same flight applaud and sing the anthem in support of the world leaders. Many of these citizens are coming to exercise their right to vote on Sunday, July 28."
On Wednesday, Diosdado Cabello, vice president of Venezuela's Socialist Party (PSUV), warned that if the former presidents traveled, they would be expelled. "They are not invited, they are showboaters [...]. If they show up at the airport, my God! What will happen? We will expel them, we will expel them, no problem" because "they are enemies of this country, they are fascists [...] They are not coming here to mess around," he said on television.
After the incident, Panamanian Foreign Minister Javier Martínez-Acha summoned the representative of Venezuela's diplomatic mission in Panama to demand an explanation. Panama "cannot allow planes of its national airline with Panamanians on board to be detained for political reasons," the minister said at the press conference.
Later, after the former presidents had already disembarked, Martínez-Acha reported that Venezuelan Transport Minister Ramón Celestino Velásquez had informed them that "there will be no further impediments" to flights.
The barred former presidents are part of the Liberty and Democracy Group, which includes, besides Moscoso, Dominican President Luis Abinader; former Spanish Prime Ministers José María Aznar and Mariano Rajoy; former Paraguayan President Mario Abdo Benítez; former Bolivian Presidents Jeanine Áñez and Jorge Quiroga; former Mexican Presidents Felipe Calderón and Vicente Fox; and former Colombian Presidents Iván Duque and Andrés Pastrana. Other members include former Ecuadorian Presidents Osvaldo Hurtado, Jamil Mahuad, and Guillermo Lasso; former Costa Rican Presidents Rafael Calderón and Miguel Ángel Rodríguez; former Argentine President Mauricio Macri; Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaidó; and former Puerto Rican Governor Luis Fortuño.
Caracas's decision to prevent some of them from departing Panama comes after the Liberty and Democracy Group declared on Wednesday that any attempt at electoral fraud in Venezuela's presidential elections should be sanctioned by the international community.
Not only right-wing observers have been barred from entering Venezuela. This week, former Argentine President Alberto Fernández stated that the Venezuelan government asked him not to travel to act as an observer because they had "doubts about (his) impartiality."
Sunday's elections will feature ten candidates, including Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and former Ambassador Edmundo González Urrutia, the flag-bearer of the opposition coalition Democratic Unity Platform (PUD), who leads in the polls as a replacement for the disqualified María Corina Machado, according to traditional pollsters. Nicolás Maduro is seeking a third consecutive term.
Venezuelan Election Observers Controversy
The recent barring of former Latin American presidents from observing the Venezuelan elections has raised many questions. Here are some key points and answers to clarify the situation.
Why were the former Latin American presidents barred from traveling to Venezuela?
The Venezuelan government closed its airspace to prevent the former presidents, who are critical of Nicolás Maduro's regime, from serving as election observers.
Who were the former presidents prevented from traveling to Venezuela?
The group included Miguel Ángel Rodríguez (Costa Rica), Jorge Quiroga (Bolivia), Vicente Fox (Mexico), and Mireya Moscoso (Panama), along with former Colombian Vice President Marta Lucía Ramírez.
What was the response from the Panamanian government?
Panamanian Foreign Minister Javier Martínez-Acha summoned the Venezuelan diplomatic representative to demand an explanation and stated that Panama could not allow political detentions of its national airline's planes.
What is the Liberty and Democracy Group?
The Liberty and Democracy Group is a collective of former and current leaders from various Latin American countries, advocating for democratic principles and integrity in governance.