What a sham! At a time when most Latin American democracies have declared Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro’s regime illegitimate, Mexico has just announced its de facto recognition of a Maduro envoy as Venezuela’s ambassador to Mexico.
Mexico’s left-of-centre President Andrés Manuel López Obrador just granted diplomatic status to Maduro’s envoy Francisco Arias Cardenas, a former coup-plotter alongside late leader Hugo Chávez in 1992.
Venezuela’s opposition-controlled National Assembly had not approved Arias Cardenas’ nomination and appointed its own ambassador. What’s more, Venezuela’s National Assembly asked Mexico not to grant Arias Cardenas diplomatic status, citing charges against him in the Odebrecht corruption scandal.