The European Parliament has approved a new resolution on Venezuela, the first after the inauguration on January 10, condemning "in the strongest terms the usurpation of the presidency by Nicolás Maduro".
The document also calls for more sanctions against the dictator, "his inner circle and their families, including Jorge Rodríguez and Vladimir Padrino López", and recalls that, "based on the electoral records presented by the democratic opposition to the regime", the European Parliament itself recognized Edmundo González as the "legitimate winner of the presidential elections".
The resolution was mainly supported by the European People's Party, Renew, and also the socialists. Both liberals and S&D did not support the previous resolution recognizing Edmundo González as the elected president. However, in this one, they did, although socialist group sources explain that there has been no change in position, and in fact, they point out that the term "elected president" only appears in the considerations but not in the requests. In
"We do not urge anyone to recognize him," S&D sources emphasize. In fact, the socialists did not sign the resolution as the PP, Renew, and ERC (Giorgia Meloni's party) did for this very reason. "We do not agree with the recognition," they add to make their position clear.
Furthermore, the document "also condemns the persecution carried out by the regime against the democratic opposition to the regime and the Venezuelan people, as well as against numerous EU citizens who have been arbitrarily detained and remain unjustly imprisoned", and "draws attention to the fact that Maduro's illegitimate seizure of power has exacerbated a pre-existing serious humanitarian crisis".
The Chavista regime had already "forced more than eight million Venezuelans to seek refuge abroad", and now will "likely force even more to flee, leading to a renewed and growing migratory pressure that will be felt more intensely in Venezuela's direct vicinity".
The European Parliament adds that "between democracy and dictatorship, there is no room for ambiguity or middle ground, as one is either on the side of democrats and those suffering repression, or on the side of dictators".