Juan Guaido expelled from Colombia

In a video posted on Twitter, Guaido said he entered Colombia on Monday trying to escape Venezuelan government persecution but that now he also felt he was being persecuted by Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro in Colombia.

“The persecution of the dictatorship, unfortunately, spread to Colombia today,” Guaido said in the video from inside an airplane, according to Al-Jazeera. He added that he was on a commercial flight to the United States and he would say more on Wednesday.

Colombia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said late on Monday in a press release that Guaido was “irregularly” in the country so immigration authorities escorted him to the international airport to take a plane bound for the US.

Foreign Minister Alvaro Leyva earlier said Guaido’s visit could face obstacles because “he entered [the country] in an inappropriate way, and in Colombia, we respect the law.”

Guaido announced his arrival earlier on Monday, ahead of the conference organized by Colombian President Gustavo Petro aimed at restarting talks to end Venezuela’s protracted political impasse.

Petro is acting as a mediator between Venezuela’s government and the opposition as he tries to unfreeze negotiations between the two sides that began in Mexico City in 2021 but reached an impasse in November.

Officials from about 20 countries, including the US, are expected to attend the conference on Tuesday. Neither Guaido nor Maduro are officially invited to attend.

MNA/PR