Venezuela, for EU Parlament support for opposition is a “moral duty”. Concern for Alberto Trentini

From the correspondent in Strasbourg – Just days after the disputed inauguration of Nicolas Maduro for his third term as president of Venezuela, the European Parliament is once again raising its voice against the Chavista leader’s “illegal attempt to remain in power by force.” In a resolution adopted today (Jan. 23) with 374 votes in favour, 53 against and 163 abstentions, Strasbourg called on the international community to stand unconditionally as a “moral duty” alongside the “legitimate winner of the presidential elections” last July, Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia.

In the final text was added an amendment proposed by the three MEPs of the Lega, Roberto Vannacci, Susanna Ceccardi and Silvia Sardone, in which the EU Parliament expresses “concern” for Alberto Trentini, an Italian citizen and a volunteer of an NGO arrested by Venezuelan authorities on November 15, 2024 during a humanitarian mission. “There has been no news since his arrest,” the MEPs point out, adding that the 45-year-old cooperator suffers from health problems and does not have medication with him. “We condemn the arbitrary detention of at least 2,500 citizens, including several European citizens. All of them must be released unconditionally,” EU Defense Commissioner Andrius Kubilius had said Tuesday, Jan. 21, during a debate in the Strasbourg hemicycle.

Other amendments to the text proposed by the Patriots for Europe (PfE) and European Conservatives (ECR), which insisted on Venezuela’s ties to Cuba, Russia, China, Iran and North Korea, were rejected. Thus, the so-called “Venezuela majority,” the right-wing bloc composed of Populars (EPP), ECR, PfE and Europe of Sovereign Nations that had supported the first resolution of condemnation of Maduro last Sept. 19, fell apart. More than half of the Conservatives—including the Fratelli d’Italia delegation—and almost all of the Patriots broke away, while the EPP remained united with the Socialists and Liberals in support of the text.

MEPs from the European Left also opposed, while the Greens abstained. Danilo Della Valle, MEP for the 5-Star Movement, had criticized the EU position in the House, arguing that “giving patents of democracy or recognizing self-appointed phoney presidents from Brussels or Washington will only move Venezuela away from peace.”

Condemning “in the strongest terms the usurpation of the presidency” by Maduro, the EU Parliament recognized Urrutia (who, along with opposition leader Maria Corina Machado, was awarded the Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought by the European Parliament) as the legitimate winner of the elections. That is why the MEPs are urging the regime to revoke the “unjustified” arrest warrant issued against Urrutia and publish the July 28 election records, which would prove Maduro’s defeat: “According to publicly available copies of the election records, Urrutia won a large majority of votes,” Kubilius said again in the House.

In the resolution, the call also to Brussels to extend and further strengthen the sanctions in place against Caracas, targeting Maduro himself, his inner circle and their families, the President of the National Assembly, Jorge Rodríguez, and the Defense Minister, Vladimir Padrino López. And “all those responsible for human rights violations and the illegitimate assertion of authority, the usurpation of official functions and repression in Venezuela.”