The Amazon Summit unsurprisingly reached its end without any significant deal or declaration between the 8 participants. While the meeting does serve as an initial attempt to form a common front for the South-American countries, it was mostly a chance for Brazil’s Lula to grandstand and get away from his frustrating domestic agenda.
One of the most relevant aspects of the summit ended up being an absence – not of France’s Macron, mind you, but the surprise decision of Venezuela’s Nicolás Maduro not to participate. That was a blow to Lula’s diplomatic efforts.
O Globo reported:
“The government of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has not been officially informed about the non- participation of the President of Venezuela , Nicolás Maduro, in the Amazon Summit , in Belém, diplomatic sources confirmed to GLOBO. Government representatives only learned that Maduro would not be at the event — considered one of the most important by the Planalto Palace in terms of foreign policy in 2023 — when the door of the Venezuelan presidential plane opened and the vice president of the country, Delcy Rodríguez, appeared – commented another consulted source.
Asked about the existence of an official communication from the [Venezuelan] Miraflores Palace to the Planalto Palace to inform about the absence of Maduro, the sources stated that such communication did not exist and that the resignation of the Venezuelan head of state was a last minute change.”
O Globo clarifies that “few believed in the justification for absence presented by Maduro on his social networks: a diagnosis of “otitis media” [ear infection] accompanied by a medical recommendation not to travel.”
One of the possible reasons, it states, is that Maduro did not have new information or decisions to present to the Brazilian government regarding the sham 2024 Venezuelan presidential elections, so he would have chosen not to travel.
Local journalists and analysts are trolling Maduro saying that “now fear is called otitis”.
One very real possibility that has not been properly addressed is that in fact, there is an open warrant for the arrest of Maduro issued in 2020 by the US DOJ, as you can see below:
While in many countries that is solemnly ignored, when Maduro ventured into Brazil back in May, opposition parliamentarians tried to alert Interpol and have him arrested, generating a diplomatic incident.
As this reporter wrote for TGP:
“Congressmen from the opposition were not impressed, determined to ensure that Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro leaves Brazil as a prisoner to be extradited to the United States; federal deputies […] sent letters to the US embassy, requesting the arrest of Hugo Chávez’s successor.
In the document, [they] point out that Maduro is listed as wanted by the DEA for crimes such as drug trafficking, international terrorism and corruption.
Congress also approved a communication with Interpol regarding Maduro. Metrópoles:
“Requests information from the INTERPOL representative in Brazil about the existence of the arrest warrant issued in disfavor of Mr Nicolas Maduro, President of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, with the respective Red Diffusion, as well as, if so, about what measures were or will be adopted for his immediate arrest.”
“Members of Maduro’s entourage recommended the Venezuelan dictator to return to Venezuela [Tuesday night]; Nicolas Maduro’s return to Venezuela was scheduled for the afternoon of Wednesday.”
Read more here:
The post Venezuela’s Maduro Skipped Brazil’s Amazon Summit at the Last Minute – Few Believe His Medical Reasons – He May Have Feared Arrest on US DOJ Drug Trafficking Warrant appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.
