Zapatero admits that he mediated so that Edmundo González could travel to Spain: "I will always help Venezuela to have a future"

“I will always help this country to regain hope and have a future.” These were the words of former President José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero on Tuesday in his first public appearance since the Venezuelan elections last August. Just before participating in the presentation of the book Democracy and its rights (Peninsula, 2024), coordinated by him, Zapatero has acknowledged his mediation between the Venezuelan Government and the country’s opposition and, specifically, in the departure of opposition leader Edmundo González, who was welcomed in Spain.

“When someone mediates, they must be extraordinarily respectful,” said the former president, just before the event and without wanting to give his opinion on either the elections in Venezuela or what happened afterwards, with the self-proclamation of Nicolás Maduro as president and the international community’s demand for the results.

“The mediators have never spoken,” added Zapatero, avoiding giving an opinion on the situation in Venezuela. “I will always humbly help that country to regain hope and have a future,” he concluded, before emphasizing that his “way of helping is through dialogue” and that his plan is to find a “peaceful solution” to the Venezuelan conflict.