The President of the GUE/NGL group in the European Parliament, Germany's Gabi Zimmer, warned the European Union on Thursday 21 February against interfering in Venezuelan internal affairs on the US line, which could exacerbate the political crisis in Venezuela.
“The EU and the United States are fuelling conflict in the region, as they have in the Middle East, and we have seen the results of this policy: more war, repression and suffering," Zimmer said, in a statement.
Given that unilateral recognition of Juan Guaidó – the President of the National Assembly who proclaimed himself interim President of Venezuela a month ago – as well as threats of external intervention will only serve to increase tensions, there is a call for Europeans to engage in "the dialogue between the Maduro government and the opposition" and calls for the United States to lift economic and financial sanctions against Venezuela.
"The politicisation of humanitarian aid to justify intervention must stop," the far-left leader said.
The situation on the ground is tense. Mr. Guaidó has set Saturday, February 23, as the deadline for the delivery of foreign humanitarian aid, the majority of which is stuck at Venezuela's borders with Colombia and Brazil. The Maduro regime believes that humanitarian aid is unnecessary. However, on Friday, it did welcome Russia's delivery of 7.5 tonnes of medicines to the country.
In 2018, 5,000 people fled Venezuela every day, bringing the number of Venezuelan refugees to 3.4 million. This includes 1.1 million in Colombia and 506,000 in Peru according to figures provided by UNHCR and IOM on Friday, February 22. In Europe, Venezuelan asylum applications "increased considerably" in 2018, according to Frontex, and a large number of exiled people enter the EU on a tourist passport. (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)