Venezuela and Spain in row over ‘dictatorship’ comment

Spain has close cultural and economic ties with Venezuela, making the South American country a sensitive issue in national politics.

This week, the right-wing opposition presented a non-binding motion which the Spanish Congress approved calling for Sánchez’s government to recognise González as president-elect.

However, the Sánchez administration prefers to remain in line with the EU, which does not accept Maduro’s victory claim, but says electoral documents must be seen before acknowledging González as the winner.

Before Robles made her comments, the president of the Venezuelan national assembly, Jorge Rodríguez, called for “all diplomatic relations, all commercial relations” with Spain to be broken off and for all flights between the countries to be cancelled.

Several major Spanish companies operate in Venezuela, including Repsol, Santander, BBVA, Telefónica and Inditex.

Official figures show that 278,000 Venezuelans were residing in Spain at the beginning of 2023, although that figure is believed to have increased substantially since.

Responding to the Venezuelan government’s announcement of diplomatic measures, Spanish Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares said: “We work to have the best possible relationship with the Venezuelan people.”