Castillo avoids condemning the regimes of Venezuela, Nicaragua and Cuba

Does Pedro Castillo endorse the regimes of Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela?

2:48

(CNN Spanish) --

When the president of Peru, Pedro Castillo, is asked how he would define himself ideologically, the answer may be surprising.

"I am a provincial, an Andean teacher who embraces the needs of the country," he says.

In the conversation that Castillo had with Fernando del Rincón, the first exclusive interview that the Peruvian president grants to an international media, it is clear that his conception could be part of his own inexperience in government work that, in turn, is extrapolated to his foreign policy.

• The most outstanding phrases of Pedro Castillo in his interview on CNN

Six months after coming to power, Castillo avoids taking sides on the situation of the regimes in Venezuela, Nicaragua and Cuba, accused of persecuting, imprisoning and violating the human rights of dissidents.

Castillo: I'm not going to repeat the dish.

I am respectful of democracy 0:49

Are Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua dictatorships?

The president replies: “I would like to have a well-united Latin America”, or “Cuba is a brother country”.

Only after several attempts does he limit himself to stating: "We will have to ask the Cubans."

With Venezuela follows the same script.

“I have many Venezuelans here and the problem is not the Venezuelans.

The problem is criminals.

The same Venezuelans against the Venezuelans who rob them.”

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• Pedro Castillo: I am not a politician.

  I wasn't trained to be president

For Castillo, the reason why thousands of Venezuelans have emigrated to Peru is reduced to the fact that "there are also many Peruvians who live there (in Venezuela)".

Who does Castillo recognize, Maduro or Guaidó?

0:44

The president has not taken into account in his analysis the deep political and economic crisis plaguing the Caribbean country, whose GDP fell 76% between 2014 and 2021, according to a report by the Venezuelan Finance Observatory organization, and which largely caused the stampede. of six million Venezuelans, according to calculations by the International Organization for Migration.

Is the president afraid to pronounce on these three countries?

On camera he denies any fear.

Castillo does not raise his voice against regimes that have been repeatedly accused of violating human rights, but he does acknowledge that he would not like Peru to become one of those models.

“Peru is rich in everything.

I will never bring a model from outside.

I plan to create a true democratic model, open with Peruvians”.

What is Castillo's desire to change the Constitution?

0:37

The request for an outlet to the sea for Bolivia

Castillo is haunted by statements from his past.

When it did not even cross his mind to be a candidate, he claimed in an event the access to the sea for Bolivia.

Now, as president, he has another strategy.

“I am not telling you that I am going to give you the sea for Bolivia (…) Now we will agree, we will consult the people.

For that, the people need to manifest themselves” because theirs, he assures, is a “totally democratic” model.

Castillo: I will call a consultation on access to the sea for Bolivia 3:38