Venezuela’s self-declared Interim President wants to normalize ties with Morocco

Venezuela’s self-declared Interim President Juan Guaido is seeking to establish diplomatic ties with Morocco. This was announced during a meeting that brought Morocco’s ambassador to Peru and a Caracas’ diplomatic representative.

According to MAP news agency, the two officials met in Lima on Tuesday, February the 19th. «We want to establish cooperative relations with Morocco», the diplomatic representative of Venezuela’s Interim President Carlos Scull said after holding talks with Moroccan ambassador Youssef Balla.

«Morocco was the first African country to support the government of President Juan Guaido», said Scull, thanking Rabat for its support. This is an «important» support, Scull pointed out, adding that the Nicolas Maduro’s regime «had affected the Venezuelan people and seriously damaged [their] international relations».

According to the Venezuelan diplomat, Maduro’s government «has maintained poor diplomatic relations with several democratic countries».

«We welcome the support of the international community, including that of Morocco», the Venezuelan diplomat said.

Guaido, Maduro and the Polisario Front

Scull’s statement comes a few days after Guaido hailed Rabat’s support for his «self-declared government». Speaking to Emirati TV channel Al Ghad, Guaido thanked Arab countries, especially Morocco, for supporting opposition forces in Venezuela.

For the record, the Kingdom is, so far, the only state in the region to back Guaido’s actions since he declared himself interim president of Venezuela in January 2019. On the 29th of teh same month, Guaido spoke to Moroccan Foreign Affairs Minister Nasser Bourita, stressing that he wants to normalize ties with the Kingdom.

On the other hand, Manuel Avendano, Foreign Affairs Advisor of the Venezuelan National Assembly, promised that his country would «reconsider its recognition of SADR under the government of Juan Guaido».

However, Morocco’s support for Guaido was not appreciated by Madoru’s government. Interviewed by an Algerian newspaper, Caracas’ ambassador to Algiers said that the Kingdom «is not entitled to comment on democracy in Venezuela and Latin America, because it knows perfectly the position of Hugo Chavez and Nicolas Maduro on the Western Sahara issue».

The diplomat told the same source that «Morocco is trying to take advantage of the situation in Venezuela. It is seeking the support of any party».