The government of the Swiss Confederation ratified this Tuesday its recognition of the management of President Nicolás Maduro in Venezuela, with the dispatch of its new ambassador to the South American nation, Jürg Sprecher, who delivered the credential letters to the Venezuelan head of State and Government.
The setting for the diplomatic ceremony was the “Sol del Peru” (Peruvian Sun) hall of the Government Palace, in the city of Caracas; a Protocol act with which the Swiss Confederation ratifies and legitimizes the mandate led by Nicolás Maduro, the only one accredited and with the power to direct activities of this style, due to his presidential inauguration.
With the presentation by Sprecherof these credential letters, the Swiss Confederation disclaims any will or intention of disowning Nicolás Maduro as head of State and Government, since it was that European nation the one that pronounced in 2019 as one of the first to acknowledge deputy Juan Guaidó, after his self-proclamation as interim president on January 23 of that same year.
The expectations from the dispatch of the new diplomatic representative to Venezuela is that the ties between both nations will be actively strengthened; It should not be forgotten that by January 24, 2019, also Bénédict de Cerjat, ambassador and head of the Americas Division of the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs, pointed out that “Switzerland considers the National Assembly (in contempt) as legitimate as a result of the democratic elections of 2015, as well as its newly elected president Juan Guaidó”.
In any case, the task of nurturing good relations and showing that there are no destabilizing overtones against Venezuela is ahead of Switzerland, since it was this country that also imposed a series of sanctions against Venezuela that came into effect on March 28. of 2018 and which include: An embargo on military equipment assets, as well as financial penalties and travel restrictions.
It is important to remember that Venezuela broke diplomatic relations with the United States in January 2019, after Washington acknowledged deputy Juan Guaidó as president. From that moment, the government of Donald Trump asked Switzerland to exercise, what it called, “a mandate of protective power in Venezuela.”
This “mandate offers Switzerland the opportunity to actively contribute to alleviating tensions between the two countries and to play a constructive role in promoting regional stability,” as was stated in a statement issued by the Swiss Foreign Ministry (DFAE ), for this moment.
