Opposition leader Juan Guaidó arrives in Colombia to seek presidency amid rumors of his arrest

Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaidó surprised many on Monday when he arrived in Colombia after being on alert for several weeks due to an alleged arrest warrant against him by the Nicolás Maduro regime.

"I have just arrived in Colombia, in the same way that millions of Venezuelans have done before me, on foot," Guaidó confirmed in a statement, where he said his objective is to join the international conference on Venezuela, organized by Colombian President Gustavo Petro.

"I will hold meetings with the Venezuelan diaspora who have been expelled... and participate in this year's primaries for the 2024 presidential elections," the former interim president said.

The presence of Guaidó gives another dimension to the conference, which has the support of Chavismo.

“I will request a meeting with the international delegations that will attend,” he wrote in the public statement.

He admitted that "in recent days, the regime has once again raised threats against me and its objective is to silence my voice," and "despite the risk involved in going out again to seek support from the world, I will not stop doing so."

Queridos venezolanos, hoy 24 de abril quiero informales lo siguiente en este comunicado. Más tarde me estaré comunicando nuevamente con ustedes sobre nuestros siguientes pasos. Dios los bendiga. pic.twitter.com/340tfoJRHP

— Juan Guaidó (@jguaido) April 24, 2023

Until the beginning of this year, the opponent held the interim presidency of Venezuela, a government parallel to the that of Nicolás Maduro, and received the support of the United States and many other countries in the world.

The objective of the interim government was to bring about the fall of Maduro, something that never happened despite indictments filed against him and 14 other regime members by the U.S. Justice Department for drug trafficking. 

Four months ago, the opposition itself terminated that government by not having results, and now, Guaidó plans to run in the primaries to be held in October this year to choose a single opposition candidate who will face Maduro in the 2024 presidential election.

One of the objectives of the international conference organized by Petro, which begins tomorrow in Bogotá is to insist the Venezuelan regime to set a date for the presidential elections and reactivate the dialogue with the opposition, which was stalled in November.