MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Petro suggests Maduro moves on to “transitional government”

Maduro wants to join forces with Colombia as Trump warns Petro would be targeted next

Colombian President Gustavo Petro has intensified diplomatic pressure on his Venezuelan counterpart, Nicolás Maduro, calling for a “general amnesty” and the formation of a “transitional government with the inclusion of all” to resolve Venezuela’s protracted political crisis.

Petro issued the plea on X on Wednesday, shortly after Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado was formally awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo.

The former Colombian guerrilla fighter argued that Venezuela needed “more democracy” to overcome the crisis following the disputed 2024 elections, which he had previously acknowledged were not free.

Petro's remarks were prompted by the news that the Maduro government had revoked the passport of Cardinal Baltasar Porras, a known government critic, as he attempted to travel to Spain.

“Maduro's government must understand that the response to external aggression is not only military mobilization but also a democratic revolution. It is with more democracy that a country is defended, not with more inefficient repression,” Petro wrote.

Petro framed his proposal as a “great historical and social pact,” referencing post-World War II European efforts to establish more democratic societies: “It is time for a general amnesty and a transitional government that includes everyone.”

The Colombian president's intervention comes amid heightened tensions in the Caribbean, where the US has deployed military assets under what it claims is an anti-narcotics operation.

Meanwhile, Maduro dismissed these calls for political reform and instead proposed a radical unification with Colombia. “Times of Gran Colombian unity, of Bolivarian unity, are approaching... We must reestablish Gran Colombia,” Maduro stated, urging Petro to create a united bloc for the “emancipation of all South America.”

At the same time, US President Donald Trump warned that after Maduro, Petro would be next.