Nicolás Maduro cancels his trip to Argentina at the last minute for fear of an attack

Nicolás Maduro has canceled his trip to Argentina citing security reasons.

The president of Venezuela has rejected at the last minute the invitation of the Argentine government to participate this Tuesday in the summit of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (Celac) by arguing that "extravagant plans designed by right-wing extremists" are underway to attack him and put the regional appointment at risk.

In his place, he will be represented by the chancellor, Yván Gil.

“In the last hours we have been informed, irrefutably, of a plan elaborated within the neo-fascist right, whose objective is to carry out a series of attacks against our delegation headed by the President of the Republic, Nicolás Maduro. Moros, for which they intend to put on a deplorable "show", in order to disturb the positive effects of such an important regional event," the Venezuelan government said in a statement on Monday.

The note also refers to "the smear campaign that has been launched against our country from the North American empire."

During the last days his presence was unknown.

"I have no news so far that President Maduro is not coming, but I don't know what he will do," Argentine President Alberto Fernández had said at a press conference held this afternoon with his Brazilian counterpart Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

Lula had scheduled a bilateral meeting with Maduro on Monday afternoon, but canceled it at the request of Venezuela hours before it was to take place.

“I don't know if Maduro will come.

I had a meeting with him but they informed me that perhaps he was not coming.

If he does not come, we will do it another time, ”Lula declared.

Maduro has limited his visits abroad to the maximum since in 2020 the United States offered a reward of 15 million dollars for his capture on charges of narcoterrorism.

In September 2021, he landed by surprise and at the last minute in Mexico to participate in the Celac summit.

Last November he participated in the climate summit held in Egypt.

Since then, he has not traveled abroad again.

Maduro's participation in the summit had been defended by the Argentine government on the grounds that it is an area of ​​discussion from which no country in the region is excluded.

Fernández stressed that the greatest concern regarding Venezuela "is to promote dialogue among Venezuelans, that democratic coexistence be recovered and that their rights are respected."

Fernández's attitude contrasts with that of his predecessor, Mauricio Macri.

The former president called the invitation to both Maduro and the Cuban Miguel Díaz-Canel shameful.

"The welcome to these dictators is not organized by us Argentines, but by a government that languishes in its mediocrity, one that will soon take the unfortunate honor of having been the worst government in the history of democracy in our country," he criticized through of social networks.

His former Minister of the Interior, Patricia Bullrich, had requested Maduro's arrest if he set foot in Buenos Aires.