Boris Johnson flew to Venezuela for meeting with President Nicolas Maduro

Mr Johnson’s spokesman told the BBC the trip came at ‘no cost to the UK taxpayer nor the Venezuelan government’.
PA Wire
John Besley10 March 2024
WEST END FINAL

Get our award-winning daily news email featuring exclusive stories, opinion and expert analysis

I would like to be emailed about offers, event and updates from Evening Standard. Read our privacy notice.

Former prime minister Boris Johnson flew to Venezuela in February to meet President Nicolas Maduro.

The Sunday Times first reported Mr Johnson travelled to Venezuela for the meeting by private jet while on holiday in the Caribbean.

A spokesman for Mr Johnson told the BBC that the visit’s purpose was to “emphasise the need for Venezuela to embrace a proper democratic process.”

Mr Maduro was re-elected in 2018 after judges banned his primary opponents from competing, plunging the country into a severe political and economic crisis.

Most opposition parties refused to recognise the election results and challenged Mr Maduro’s rule by creating an interim government, a push for change that fizzled out over the past few years.

There has since been strong international pressure for Venezuela to hold a free and fair election.

Venezuela also approved a referendum last year to claim sovereignty over an oil- and mineral-rich area of neighbouring Guyana, which Guyana disputes.

British minister for the Americas and Caribbean, David Rutley, met with Guyanese President Irfaan Ali in December to stress the UK Government’s backing for Guyana.

Mr Johnson’s spokesman told the BBC that he “repeatedly made clear there can be no hope of normalisation in relations until Venezuela fully embraces democracy and respects the territorial integrity of its neighbours”.

“He also set out the case for the cause of Ukrainian victory to the government of Venezuela.”

The spokesman also told the broadcaster the trip came at “no cost to the UK taxpayer nor the Venezuelan government”.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in