The elected president of Guatemala, Alejando Giammattei, said on Monday that he will expel Venezuelan diplomats from the government of Nicolás Maduro when he takes office on January 14th, following in the footsteps of Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele.
Giammattei told reporters that by swearing in as president he will break ties with the Venezuelan government and expel the diplomatic corps if the current president’s government, Jimmy Morales, has not done so before.
We are going to do it on January 14th. We are going to totally break relations with Maduro’s Venezuela,”
replied Giammattei when asked about the recent expulsion of the Venezuelan diplomatic corps from El Salvador.
Giammattei reiterated that his government will recognize the opposition leader Juan Guaidó as president in charge of the South American nation, as the Morales administration already does.
It’s the right thing to do,”
added Giammattei, a 63-year-old right-wing doctor who was elected to ballot last August.
The Salvadoran president ordered the Venezuelan diplomatic corps to leave the country in 48 hours on Saturday night, joining more than 50 countries that, led by the United States, press for Maduro’s departure.
Maduro, in “reciprocity,” declared members of the Salvadoran diplomatic corps as “personae non gratae” and also gave them 48 hours to leave Venezuela.
Giammattei tried to enter Venezuela last October to meet with Guaidó, but the government did not allow it because he showed an Italian passport and his visit was not for tourist or private purposes, in addition to not having an invitation from the Executive.
According to the Guatemalan president-elect, his mission was to invite Guaidó to his inauguration and ask Maduro to release “political prisoners” and the “immediate call for democratic elections.”