.jpg?w=150&resize=150,150&ssl=1 "Rixi Moncada")
Chile's Minister of Foreign Relations announced on Tuesday the end of the diplomatic mission of his envoy to Venezuela, Jaime Gazmuri. This decision occurred in the context of accusations of electoral fraud against Nicolás Maduro during the July 2024 presidential elections, which generated strong international rejection.
In an official statement, the Chilean Cancillería explained the reasons behind the media, reporting that the government of Gabriel Boric considers that Venezuela's presidential cartoons take care of transparency and legitimacy.
“The government of Chile has decided to postpone the mission of its ambassador to Venezuela due to the electoral fraud fought by Nicolás Maduro in the presidential elections in July,” the statement said.
From Caracas, the Venezuelan authorities have not yet issued an official response to the Chilean decision, while CNN continues to seek reactions from Maduro's government.
A diplomatic relationship on duty
The tension between both countries is not new, but reached a critical point in August 2024, when Chilean diplomatic staff were expelled from Venezuela following the election results. At the time, President Gabriel Boric described the expulsion as an “unjustifiable” action by the Venezuelan government.
Currently, diplomatic relations between Chile and Venezuela remain completely suspended. There is no official representation of Chile in Caracas nor of Venezuela in Santiago, which reflects the depth of the distance between both countries.
The origin of the electoral controversy
The core of the radical dispute in the presidential elections celebrated in Venezuela in July 2024. According to the National Electoral Council (CNE) of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro was proclaimed ganador, but the results were widely discussed both domestically and internationally. Until the end, the CNE did not publish a detailed breakdown of the results for the voting table and center, which fueled suspicions of irregularities.
For his part, the opposing leader Edmundo González Urrutia insisted that he was the real ganador of the elections. The Venezuelan opposition assures that it has collected most of the documents issued by the CNE and, after its analysis, the results are favorable to González by a large margin.
CNN carried out an independent verification of the documents provided by the opposition and concluded that the memory is authentic. However, Maduro's government claims that the documents presented are false, perpetuating conflict over the legitimacy of the results.
International reactions and political context
Chile's decision to withdraw its ambassador resulted in the growing international presidency against Maduro's government. Various countries and organizations have expressed their concern about the lack of transparency in the Venezuelan electoral process, which has raised every time a diplomatic Islamiento mayor of the Chavista regime.
On the other hand, in Venezuela, the political climate continues to be tenacious. The opposition, led by González, has repeatedly denounced the government's reprisals and fines against those demanding the election results. In one recent case, official leader Diosdado Cabello said that any foreign ex-agent accompanying González on his return to Venezuela could have been arrested.
“Nadie is inviting,” declared Cabello, in a message that many interpreted as a complaint directed against international figures who have shown support for the Venezuelan opposition.
Meanwhile, Venezuela's political future continues to be uncertain. The lack of consensus on the election results, added to growing diplomatic tensions with countries like Chile, underlines the complexity of the crisis facing the South American nation.
A panorama without diplomatic representation
The use of diplomatic relations between Chile and Venezuela marks a low point in the recent history of bilateral relations. For both countries, the loss of formal communication channels could further complicate the possibility of resolving differences through dialogue.
The Chilean government, for its part, reiterated its commitment to the defense of democracy and human rights in the region, making it clear that it will not recognize trials considered fraudulent. Meanwhile, Venezuelan authorities persist in the narrative that the fraud allegations are part of an international campaign to destabilize the country.
The diplomatic rift between Chile and Venezuela is a reflection of the polarization that characterizes the regional political landscape. With the 2024 presidential elections at the center of the debate, the development of this crisis will have significant implications for both Venezuela and its international relations in the coming years.
