Guaido sacks prominent Colombia envoy

Another prominent figure in Venezuela's US-backed parallel administration has abruptly departed in the latest sign of internal discord.

In a 26 November letter, self-declared interim president Juan Guaido informed his Colombia envoy Humberto Calderon Berti that a new envoy would be appointed.

Multiple sources in Venezuela's political opposition blame Calderon's ouster on repeated friction with Guaido's foreign relations envoy Julio Borges. They tell Argus they were nonetheless taken by surprise by the departure of Calderon, who has long personal and business experience in Colombia and fluid relations with senior figures in the Colombian government, Guaido's leading backer in Latin America.

The letter states that "in line with conversations with the Presidential Commissioner for International Relations, we have decided to make changes in our foreign policy with the aim of achieving the objectives laid out by our Legitimate Government."

No replacement has been named.

Calderón, a petroleum engineer, served as oil minister and chief executive of Venezuelan national oil company PdV in the years prior to late president Hugo Chavez´s 1998 election.

Calderon´s career includes a founding role in Colombian independent oil company Vetra which is currently controlled by the private equity firm Capital Group.

During his parallel diplomatic tenure in Bogota, Calderon advocated for Venezuelan migrants who officially number about 1.5mn but may be as many as double that number.

He could not be reached for comment.

Calderon's ouster comes at a sensitive time for Colombia, where a week-long protest movement allegedly infiltrated by Venezuelan instigators has led to some pockets of looting and clashes with security forces. This week the Colombian immigration service expelled some four dozen Venezuelans accused of participating in the unrest.

In September, Venezuela's former planning minister and current Harvard professor Ricardo Hausmann stepped down as the Guaido team's representative to the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and the lead figure in debt talks with creditors in the US.

Guaido declared his interim presidency in Caracas in January 2019, but despite escalating US financial and oil sanctions, Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro has not fallen. Guaido's summoning of nationwide marches on 16 November brought out large crowds, but far fewer than the throngs of supporters who filled the streets in early 2019.

Guaido's administration is recognized by the US, the EU, Canada and some countries in Latin America, including Colombia, Brazil, Peru and Chile. Bolivia's interim administration that took over following the 10 November resignation of Evo Morales, a Maduro ally, has now recognized Guaido as well. Argentina's recognition of Guaido is likely to be withdrawn after new leftist president Alberto Fernandez takes office early next month. Mexico and Uruguay have steered clear of the conflict, advocating dialogue instead, but Montevideo's position could also shift following 24 November elections.

By Patricia Garip