Leyva’s visit to Maduro has nothing to do with the Government, according to sources from the Foreign Ministry

The meeting between former Colombian Foreign Minister Álvaro Leyva and Nicolás Maduro in Venezuela was held in a personal capacity and has raised suspicions, even at the government level, since the Gustavo Petro administration is working with Brazil to mediate in the crisis there following the July 28 elections.

The visit was confirmed on Wednesday by Maduro himself, who published several photos with Leyva, the first foreign minister appointed by Gustavo Petro during his government, at the Miraflores Palace. The Chavista said that they analyzed “world geopolitics and the great challenges” of the region.

“Unity, brotherhood, cooperation and peace among peoples is and will always be the way forward,” said Maduro. As seen in the photos, Venezuelan Foreign Minister Yvan Gil was present at the meeting.

Sources from the Colombian Ministry of Foreign Affairs assured EFE on Thursday, August 29 that That visit by Leyva, who was foreign minister between August 2022 and last February until he was suspended by the Attorney General’s Office, was personal and had nothing to do with the Government.

Neither the current foreign minister, Luis Gilberto Murillo, nor Petro nor anyone in the government has met with Maduro or with members of the Venezuelan government since the crisis began after the elections, in which the opposition claims victory over Nicolás Maduro.

This is also happening at a time when the Colombian government has not recognized Maduro’s victory in the elections and is asking, along with Brazil, that the electoral records be released “broken down by voting table,” as they ratified last week after the Supreme Court of Venezuela endorsed the questioned victory of the current president.

Petro and his Brazilian counterpart, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, reaffirmed that “the political normalization of Venezuela” requires “the recognition that there is no lasting alternative to peaceful dialogue and democratic coexistence in diversity.”

Leyva confirmed to Semana magazine who traveled to Caracas at Maduro’s invitation and who will meet with the executive vice president of that country, Delcy Rodríguez, on Thursdaywith no further information known on the matter.