Colombia expels Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaidó

Colombian authorities announced on Monday night that they had expelled the leader of the Venezuelan opposition, Juan Guaidó from the country, where an international summit on Venezuela will start this Tuesday.

The Colombian government accused Guaidó of having entered the country “unauthorized” and said that the leader was “taken to El Dorado airport” in Bogota, from where he left, according to a statement.

A Venezuelan opposition source, who asked not to be identified, told the France-Presse news agency that Bogotá “forced” Guaidó to take a “commercial flight” to the United States.

Hours earlier, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Colombia, Álvaro Leyva, had warned that the country would expel Guaidó, for having traveled to Bogotá without an invitation.

The position of the Colombian Government was made known after Guaidó announced that he had just “arrived in Colombia, in the same way that millions of Venezuelans have done, on foot”.

“I came within the framework of the summit convened by President [colombiano, Gustavo] Petro for this Tuesday, April 25, and I will request a meeting with the international delegations who will attend,” explained Guaidó, in a statement released on the social network Twitter.

“I will not stop denouncing the crimes that harm humanity committed by the [o Presidente venezuelano Nicolás] Mature. I demand the freedom of the almost 300 political prisoners who remain in prisons, that they stop persecuting my family, my team and those who fight for a better Venezuela. Our struggle is for free elections and respect for human rights,” he added.

On April 15, Petro announced the holding of an international meeting to promote the resumption of dialogue between the Government and the Venezuelan opposition, although without the participation of both parties.

Colombia confirmed, on Monday, that Portugal is among the 20 countries invited to the conference, as well as the United States, Brazil, Argentina, Canada, Mexico, Germany, Spain, France, Italy, Norway and the United Kingdom.

According to the Colombian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the summit will also be attended by the head of EU diplomacy, Josep Borrell.

On January 18, the Venezuelan Government conditioned the resumption of dialogue with the opposition to the return of the country’s assets that are blocked abroad and accused the US of continuing to threaten Venezuela with new sanctions.

Washington responded that it will keep the sanctions policy intact until concrete steps are taken for the “return of democracy” to Venezuela.