Venezuela-Panama Tension: Maduro Insults Mulino After Meeting With González Urrutia

Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro lashed out on Wednesday, January 8, 2025, against his Panamanian counterpart, José Raúl Mulino, with controversial statements.  Maduro said he wishes the president of Panama “had the balls” to defend the Panama Canal with the same intensity with which, according to him, he attacks Venezuela.  “You are a coward, President of Panama, and you will also get what you deserve. Anyone who messes with Venezuela will dry up. You will dry up, you will dry up.  I cannot tell you your name because I don’t even know your name,” Maduro said during a televised speech.  Maduro continued: “I wish you would come out to defend the Panama Canal and the dignity that Omar Torrijos left for Panama. I wish. I raise a prayer for Omar Torrijos, so that the people of Omar Torrijos, founded by Bolívar, who liberated Panama, reach their hour of vindication sooner rather than later. So it will be.”

These statements were made hours after Mulino received Venezuelan opposition leader Edmundo González Urrutia at the Palacio de las Garzas, who presented copies of the minutes proving his victory in the presidential elections of July 28 in Venezuela. These remarks also arise in the context of recent insinuations by the president-elect of the United States, Donald Trump, about his intention for that country to regain control of the Panama Canal.  “We must clearly state to you, Mr. Edmundo, that Panama is with you and with the legitimacy that you represent,” said Mulino during the meeting. “You can count on our political and moral support. I hope that this journey will be a wake-up call to the democratic world, a wake-up call for the freedom of Venezuela,” added the Panamanian president. 

Pictured Above: Panamanian Foreign Minister Javier Martinez Acha (left) and Venezuelan opposition leader Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia

The meeting, part of González Urrutia’s international tour, reinforces the Panamanian government’s recognition of the opposition leader as Venezuela’s president-elect, which has intensified tensions with the Maduro regime. “The voting records were stolen, but they did not count on the cunning of the Venezuelans, who managed to control the process and retrieve the records from the moment of the vote,” said González Urrutia during his visit to the Palacio de las Garzas.  At the event held in the Yellow Room, 11 former Latin American presidents expressed their support for González Urrutia’s victory. In addition, several foreign ministers from the region participated in the activities organized on Wednesday.