Khaberni - The Colombian Foreign Ministry announced that Bogota is ready to grant Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro the right to asylum, should he step down from power, in light of the increasing pressures exerted by the United States on his government.
And the Colombian Foreign Minister, Rosa Viafithencio, in an interview with "Caracol" radio on Thursday, said, "Colombia would have no reason to refuse to receive him, if leaving power involved moving to live in another country or seeking protection."
The minister pointed out that this scenario is among the hypotheses proposed to contain the escalation in the region.
She added that forming a transitional government in Venezuela "could be a solution" to reduce regional tensions, but she emphasized that "such a decision must be made through negotiations between the United States and the Maduro government," affirming that Bogota does not seek to impose any one-sided political path.
At the start of this month, the American newspaper "Miami Herald" reported that President Donald Trump asked his Venezuelan counterpart Nicolas Maduro in a phone call, "to resign immediately and leave the country".
Wide Military Moves
These statements come at a time when the United States has been intensifying its pressure on Caracas since last summer, accusing Maduro of drug trafficking.
These statements were accompanied by broad military movements in the Caribbean Sea, including airstrikes on boats, which America accused of being involved in smuggling, alongside the possibility of implementing a ground military operation.
The United States seized a Venezuelan oil tanker off the coast this week, in the first operation of its kind since 2019, described by President Donald Trump as the largest so far.
Since September, U.S. forces have targeted more than 20 ships suspected of involvement in drug smuggling in the Caribbean Sea and the Eastern Pacific, resulting in at least 83 deaths.
Conversely, Maduro accuses Washington of trying to overthrow him in order to take control of Venezuela's oil resources.
Colombian President Gustavo Petro called on Wednesday for a "general amnesty and the formation of a transitional government in Venezuela".
Like a number of countries, Colombia did not recognize the results of the Venezuelan presidential elections of 2024, which Maduro won for a third term amid opposition accusations of fraud, yet Bogota has, at the same time, maintained diplomatic relations with Caracas.
