By way of Ione Wells, South The us Correspondent & Damian Grammaticas, Political CorrespondentBBC News1 hour agoImage supply, Getty ImagesImage caption, Boris Johnson additionally travelled to Ukraine in FebruaryFormer High Minister Boris Johnson flew to Venezuela closing month for a personal assembly with the rustic’s President Nicolás Maduro.The talks had been unofficial and no longer paid for through the United Kingdom executive, the BBC has been instructed. Mr Johnson’s spokesman mentioned it used to be to “emphasise the desire for Venezuela to include a correct democratic procedure”.It isn’t transparent who initiated or paid for the consult with.Mr Maduro has dominated Venezuela since 2013. He confronted standard protests however in 2018, gained a 2d time period in presidential elections that had been extensively disregarded as neither unfastened nor truthful.The United Kingdom has an embassy within the nation however no ambassador, despite the fact that it does have a rate d’affaires, Colin Dick.A spokesman for Mr Johnson instructed the BBC that he “time and again made transparent there can also be no hope of normalisation in members of the family till Venezuela totally embraces democracy and respects the territorial integrity of its neighbours”.”He additionally set out the case for the reason for Ukrainian victory to the federal government of Venezuela.”A spokesman for Overseas Secretary Lord Cameron mentioned it used to be a “non-public consult with” however that Mr Johnson texted him when he used to be on his means.Mr Johnson’s workplace declined to mention who paid for the non-public jet that flew him to Venezuela, announcing: “Now that he’s a personal citizen we do not touch upon any of the ones problems, simplest to mention there used to be no price to the United Kingdom taxpayer nor the Venezuelan executive”.The BBC has been instructed that Mr Johnson won a briefing within the British Embassy place of dwelling in Caracas earlier than his assembly, and that he then debriefed embassy officers afterwards.The consult with is abnormal given the previous high minister isn’t a member of the federal government anymore, and as a result of the present diplomatic tensions between the United Kingdom and Venezuela.Symbol supply, Getty ImagesImage caption, Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro has been in energy for 11 yearsVenezuela’s executive faces sturdy world force to carry a unfastened and truthful election, to unlock activists and political fighters it has detained, and to de-escalate tensions with its neighbour – the previous British colony Guyana.Venezuela held a referendum closing yr during which it claimed sovereignty over the oil and resource-rich Essequibo area that makes up about two-thirds of Guyana, a declare that Guyana disputes.The United Kingdom despatched a warship to Guyana according to display army and diplomatic reinforce for the rustic. Mr Maduro known as it an “act of antagonistic provocation”.A deal used to be reached closing yr with the opposition to permit a unfastened and truthful election to happen, with world observers provide, however since then a ban towards the opposition chief has been upheld.This resulted in the USA reimposing a few of its financial sanctions at the nation.Mr Johnson then stepped down as MP in June 2023 after dealing with some complaint over what number of parliamentary votes he used to be lacking as a result of he used to be making common journeys out of the country.Then in November 2023, he used to be pictured along former Australian High Minister Scott Morrison in Israel the place they met the rustic’s president, 4 weeks after Hamas’s assaults on Israel on 7 October. He returned to Kyiv closing month after his Caribbean vacation to satisfy Mr Zelesnky on the second one anniversary of the Russian invasion.
