On Monday 17 July, the Spanish Foreign Minister, Alfonso Dastis Quecedo, stated that “The time is not right for sanctions” against the Maduro regime, despite the fact that any resolution to the political crisis in Venezuela appears more and more remote.
Nonetheless, El Mundo reported that whilst speaking during the Foreign Affairs Council, the Minister did indicate that they should not rule out the possibility of adopting targeted sanctions if the Maduro regime moved ahead at the end of July with the setting up of a Constituent Assembly.
The day before, 95% of 7.1 million Venezuelans voted against the process of the Constituent Assembly. The political opposition, which is now in a majority at the National Assembly, interprets this plan as a means of circumventing the National Assembly to remain in power.
The Spanish minister appealed for a “democratic and peaceful” resolution of the crisis and offered his support to the Venezuelan Parliament. He believes the project for a Constituent Assembly does not have any future. He is in favour of promoting diplomatic action at a regional level in an effort to relaunch political dialogue between the different parties.
On the same day, the President of the European Parliament, Antonio Tajani, stated on Twitter, “The peaceful expression of more than 7 million people in Venezuela sent out a clear message against the Constituent Assembly”. (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)