American Diplomats Helped Venezuelan Opposition Leader Escape to the US

(AmericanProsperity.com) – The US State Department said on Tuesday that American diplomats in Colombia helped bring Venezuelan former interim president and opposition leader Juan Guaido to the United States after the Colombian government threatened to detain him.

Hours after landing in Miami, Florida, the State Department Principal Deputy Spokesman Vedant Patel said that three American diplomats worked closely with the government of Colombian leftist President Gustavo Petro to let Guaido fly to the United States. However, Patel didn’t address whether Guaido will seek political asylum, but pointing out that the assistance provided to him is not an indication that the Biden administration will change its policy on the Venezuelan crisis. About this situation, Patel told reporters that the White House continues to have a clear perspective when it comes to its aspirations that the socialist dictatorship of Venezuela makes “significant progress in terms of human rights.

The opposition leader, who had served as Venezuela’s interim president until January, tweeted on Monday he was fleeing Colombia because the socialist dictatorship was threatening him and his family. A couple of hours later, Guaido said in a video he posted on his Twitter account that he crossed by foot the Venezuelan border to enter Colombia. During night hours, Guaido posted another video where he said “they’re kicking me out of Colombia,” and claimed that the Venezuelan dictatorship’s persecution “has extended to Colombia, unfortunately.”

Following these tweets, President Petro rejected the idea that the Venezuelan opposition leader was expelled from Colombia and said on his Twitter account that Guaido had an agreement to travel to the United States, and he allowed his transit, citing humanitarian reasons

Republican Florida Representative Maria Elvira Salazar tweeted that she will personally ask US President Joe Biden to grant asylum for Guaido and his family. She also criticized the Colombian president for forcing Guaido out of his country “to please” Venezuelan socialist dictator Nicolas Maduro, and claimed that both leftist leaders “play on the same team.”