Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has held phone conversations with Venezuelan interim President Delcy Rodríguez and opposition leader Edmundo González to support a peaceful transition in the country. These calls follow the US intervention capturing Nicolás Maduro and the release of five Spanish prisoners. Sánchez aims to preserve Spain's influence in the process, criticizing Donald Trump's direct interference.
On Friday, January 9, 2026, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez solidified his commitment to Venezuela's transition by speaking directly with Delcy Rodríguez, the new president following Nicolás Maduro's capture by US forces on January 3, and with Edmundo González, exiled in Spain and considered the winner of the July 28, 2024 elections, which the Chavista regime fraudulently claimed. Sánchez had no prior contacts with Maduro, whom Spain does not recognize as legitimate. The conversations, announced by Sánchez in Paris the previous Tuesday, are part of Spanish mediation, facilitated by former President José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, who helped free five Spanish political prisoners on Thursday: Andrés Martínez Adasme, José María Basoa, Miguel Moreno, Ernesto Gorbe, and Rocío San Miguel. They arrived in Madrid that same Friday without statements due to restrictions and are in good physical condition, according to Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares.
In his 17-minute call with González, Sánchez conveyed support for a "peaceful, dialogued, and democratic transition in Venezuela, led by Venezuelans themselves." González emphasized the need for "real freedom for all political prisoners, end to persecution, disarmament of paramilitary groups, and respect for the popular will expressed on July 28." To Rodríguez, Sánchez expressed a desire to "accompany the country in this new stage and contribute to bringing positions closer." The talk with the president was described as "very good" by government sources, covering issues like prisoners, economy, and free elections.
Rodríguez thanked Spain's "brave stance" in condemning the US "aggression," which caused over a hundred civilian and military deaths, according to her statement. She also spoke with the presidents of Brazil and Colombia. Sánchez criticizes Trump's intervention, which seeks to control Venezuelan oil—where Repsol is key—and advocates for a Latin American front with Brazil, Mexico, and others against "imperialism." Spain, with major business interests and Venezuelan communities, prioritizes a transition without external interference, maintaining distance from María Corina Machado, a critic of the Spanish government.
Albares spoke that day with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio about an "adequate transition," under diplomatic discretion. King Felipe VI, in his address to ambassadors, celebrated the prisoner release and called for a "true democratic transition" in Venezuela, warning against dismantling transatlantic ties due to actions like the US intervention.
