The Delcy Government describes Zapatero as “the champion of peace” and appreciates his role in the Venezuelan Amnesty Law

And he has done it in the National Assembly of Venezuela, where its president, the chavista Jorge Rodríguez, Delcy’s brother, has not hesitated to describe him as the “champion of peace” of the country as well as its “friend” and “mentor.”

Asked about the role of the former president of the Government in the Amnesty Law, Rodríguez has avoided answering although he has praised and thanked his “efforts” in the search for peace in Venezuela.

“He is not an advisor, he is the champion of peace in Venezuela, because “He has earned those epaulettes – a military badge – with all the strength he has shown over the years.”Jorge Rodríguez stated in statements to the press from the Federal Legislative Palace, the headquarters of Parliament in Caracas.

In addition, he added that Zapatero has contributed to the release of hundreds of Venezuelan prisoners and regretted that this has led him to be purpose of “insults” and criticism of both him and the Sánchez Government.

“Zapatero’s accompaniment to this new political time in Venezuela is something natural and more than deserved after so much time of this search, which seems to be, at this moment, taking a good course”he added.

“Friend” and “mentor”

Jorge Rodríguez led a meeting with the former Spanish president, whom he recognized as his “friend” and “mentor”, in which the Special Monitoring Commission also participated, appointed by the National Assembly, to evaluate compliance with the Amnesty Law, as well as examine and recommend the review of cases excluded from this rule to receive procedural benefits.

In said meeting, Zapatero, before the media, made it clear that “There is no place for hate and violence in Venezuela, is the final point” and that “the amnesty makes us live and feel a shared country”.

“It is forgiveness, reconciliation and recognition of the other, it is the hope founded on the future of Venezuela,” said the former president of the Government,” he added.

The socialist also considered that there are no “precedents for such rapid approval and application” as this law, while he compared the Venezuelan amnesty with the Catalan one, pointing out that “it affects a much larger number of people” than the law approved in relation to “the conflict” of the trial.

Message to the USA

Zapatero became involved as mediator, electoral observer and dialogue facilitator between the Maduro Government and different opposition sectors of Venezuela in 2014 in a context of massive protests and growing institutional confrontation.

Since then, its main work has focused on the release of political prisoners and seeking a space for negotiation between the parties that could stop the violence and open channels of dialogue.

The former president has also taken the opportunity to address the United States, urging Donald Trump to “help Venezuela’s economy” – which has faced years of crisis and sanctions mainly imposed by Washington – if it wants stability for the country.

Since the approval of the Amnesty Law by the new Chavista government, Justice has granted more than 7,700 full freedomsthe vast majority of them to people who had precautionary measures and without an official list of their identities having been published so far.

The NGO Venezuelan Prison Observatory (OVP) demanded this Monday that the complete list with the names of political prisoners who have been released in the country be immediately published, after the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, indicated that he has not received this detailed information.

With this visit, Zapatero has traveled to Caracas twice since the capture of Nicolás Maduro by the US.

On his previous trip, Delcy Rodriguez received him at the Miraflores Palace – headquarters of the Chavista Executive – “as part of the Bolivarian diplomacy of peace that strengthens brotherhood, dialogue and solidarity.