Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido has apparently sought refuge in the French embassy in Caracas, according to the South American country’s foreign minister. He hoped that foreign governments „change their minds and extradite those who want to escape Venezuelan justice,“ said Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza in a radio interview yesterday.
A few days earlier, President Nicolas Maduro had indicated that his rival Guaido was „hiding“ in a diplomatic mission.
„There is no way we can enter a country’s embassy,“ Arreaza said, adding that violent detention is „not possible.“ In addition to the French embassy, he also referred to the Spanish one, where another leading opposition politician has sought refuge from the government for more than a year.
„It is a shame for Spanish diplomacy, it is a shame for French diplomacy what has happened and it will take its toll very, very soon,“ said Arreaza. France and Spain are among the approximately 50 countries that recognize Guaido as Venezuela’s interim president.
President Maduro recently said that Guaido was “on the run from the judiciary” – although there was no official arrest warrant against him. Guaido himself said on Twitter on Monday that he was hiding: he accused Maduro and his government of lying. The opposition leader wrote that he was “with the people”.
