Portugal states they do not oppose sanctions to Venezuela
The Spanish newspaper El País stated that all 27 member States had agreed with sanctioning Venezuela, except for Portugal. Foreign Affairs deny this information, adding the issue was never discussed.
The Venezuelan people have been protesting their President’s intention of changing the country’s Constitution, which Nicolás Maduro wants to discuss in an assembly. According to the Spanish newspaper El País, all European Union countries, except for Portugal, were willing to apply economic sanctions to Venezuela if the President does request a Constitutional Assembly. Nonetheless, the Portuguese Government states they did not refuse to comply with EU’s future decisions.
The Foreign Affairs Ministry states in a press release that the “information contemplated in El País is not truthful”, adding that the matter wasn’t even discussed: “Portugal did not oppose, within the European Union, to applying sanctions to Venezuela, simply because that issue hasn’t yet been addressed among the EU Member States”.
The press release also adds that Portugal will “entirely supports” EU’s conclusions about Venezuela. As a conclusion, the Ministry states: “EU, along with Portugal, has been doing everything to favor an inclusive politics in Venezuela, which respects the Constitutional State, the political pluralism and the principle of peaceful solving of referendums”.
This press release was sent after the Spanish newspaper El País pointed out that the European Union’s delegation in Caracas was aware that all EU countries were open to applying sanctions to Venezuela, except for Portugal. Economic sanctions are “on the table”, stated Federica Mogherini, High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs. In addition to the European Union, Donald Trump also threatened to apply economic sanctions to Venezuela in an attempt to talk Nicolás Maduro out of changing the country’s Constitution.
