MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Colombia and Mexico to be represented at Maduro's new inauguration

“There are still no invitations” to Donald Trump's inauguration, Sheinbaum explained

Authorities in Bogotá and Mexico City admitted this week that their governments will be represented in Caracas on Jan. 10 when President Nicolás Maduro takes his oath of office for a new six-year term (2025-2031)for which he was chosen in the controversial July 28 elections which the opposition also claims to have won.

Colombia's Deputy Foreign Minister Jorge Rojas said Ambassador Milton Rengifo would be leading his country's mission to the ceremony while President Gustavo Petro analyzes whether to attend himself. “Surely the Colombian Government, as many governments of the region, will send a representative to the inauguration of President Maduro. In our case, initially, the Colombian ambassador to Venezuela, Milton Rengifo, is expected to attend,” Rojas explained.

He also admitted that Petro was “evaluating the situation to know what decision is finally taken” regarding his appearance at the event. Many governments have not recognized Maduro's win and insist on calling Edmundo González Urrutia of the Unitarian Democratic Platform (PUD) “President-elect.”

But “Colombia has a policy outlined against Venezuela that is based on the policy of good neighborliness, which we must maintain with all neighboring countries” Rojas insisted.

Meanwhile, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum announced Monday during her morning press briefing that Ambassador Leopoldo de Gyves would be representing her country in Caracas. Regarding Donald Trump's Jan. 20 inauguration in Washington DC, Sheinbaum pointed out that “there are still no invitations.”