On Friday, Panama’s President, Jose Raul Mulino stated that a plane carrying several former Latin American presidents expected to observe Venezuela’s forthcoming elections this weekend was not permitted to take off from Tocumen airport in Panama.
Mulino stated on social media that the aircraft carrying former Panamanian president Mireya Moscoso and other ex-presidents will not be allowed to “take off from Tocumen as long as they remain on board.”
He wrote that it was due to “the blockade of Venezuelan airspace.”
The United States has warned Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro against interfering with the electoral process. It also said it is prepared to “recalibrate” sanctions depending on the outcome of the vote.
What happened?
Moscoso together with former presidents Miguel Angel Rodriguez of Costa Rica, Jorge Quiroga of Bolivia, and Vicente Fox of Mexico were scheduled to make a trip via Venezuela. The four are known critics of Maduro.
Inside the plane, there were some videos shared by Fox on X. “Venezuela we are with you no matter what happens” he wrote.
Panama’s foreign ministry summoned Venezuela’s representative for an explanation.
Venezuelan Presidential Elections scheduled for Sunday
In the coming presidential elections in Venezuela this Sunday, incumbent President Maduro is up against opposition candidate Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia.
Though Maduro seeks a third term in office, he currently lags behind Urrutia in opinion polls. Nevertheless, after ten years in power. He runs virtually all branches of state power including the armed forces and the electoral council.
Urrutia himself is a former diplomat and belongs to a political alliance formed by civil society. Organizations, trade unions, retired military officers and ex-parliamentarians respectively.
Sanctions under review by Washington
If Maduro claims victory without providing any evidence for it. Then he will be put on notice by the United States according to its statement released last Friday.
An unnamed senior US official noted that it was “deeply concerning” that the number of international observers permitted by Maduro’s government had been limited.
“The United States is prepared to calibrate our sanctions policy vis-a-vis events as they may unfold in Venezuela,”. The Reuters news agency quoted the official as saying.
“As we look at the post-electoral period, we will continue to evaluate and update our sanctions policy as required based on our foreign policy goals.”
