Venezuela blocks Panama plane carrying senior politicians

TOCUMEN: A plane carrying a number of former Latin American presidents hoping to observe Venezuela elections this weekend was not allowed to take off from Tocumen airport in Panama, the country’s President Jose Raul Mulino said on Friday.

Panama President Jose Raul Mulino said a flight carrying former presidents of Mexico, Bolivia and Costa Rica to Venezuela to observe elections has not been allowed to take off.

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The plane carrying former Panama president Mireya Moscoso and other ex-presidents was denied permission to “take off from Tocumen as long as they remain on board,” Mulino said in a post on X (formerly Twitter). This was due to “the blockade of Venezuelan airspace,” he wrote.

What do we know about the incident?

Former presidents Miguel Angel Rodriguez of Costa Rica, Jorge Quiroga of Bolivia and Vicente Fox of Mexico were due to fly together with Moscoso to Venezuela. The four former leaders are all strong critics of the government of current Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.

Fox shared videos on X from inside the plane. He wrote: “Venezuela we are with you, no matter what happens.”

Panama’s Foreign Ministry summoned the Venezuelan representative for an explanation.

Sunday’s presidential elections in Venezuela pit the incumbent, President Maduro, against opposition candidate Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia.

Maduro is seeking a third term in office but is currently lagging behind Urrutia in polls. However, after a decade in office Maduro controls almost all branches of state power, including the armed forces and the electoral council.

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Urrutia himself is a former diplomat and belongs to a political alliance made up of civil society, trade unions, retired military personnel, and former parliamentarians.