Former Colombian President on Potential U.S. Intervention in Venezuela: 'What Will Happen Is an Extraction, Not an Invasion'

Former Colombian President Andrés Pastrana said that any potential U.S. operation in Venezuela "will be an extraction and not an invasion," framing what he believes would be Washington's likely approach to regime change in the South American country.

Pastrana made the remark in an interview with local outlet NTN24 while discussing a new declaration issued by the Democratic Initiative of Spain and the Americas (IDEA), a group of 32 former presidents.

Pastrana, a member of IDEA, said the coalition's latest statement formally recognizes Edmundo González Urrutia and María Corina Machado as the constitutional president and vice president of Venezuela. According to him, IDEA "was born for Venezuela" and exists to defend democratic legitimacy.

Pastrana went on to argue that González should no longer be described as "president-elect," saying the opposition leader became the country's legitimate president when he was barred from entering Venezuela to assume office.

"When the president-elect was prohibited from entering Venezuela to take office, the coup d'état was formed," Pastrana told NTN24. "From that moment, the constitutional president of Venezuela is Edmundo González, and his vice president is María Corina Machado."

Pastrana said the declaration is intended to encourage foreign governments to formally recognize both leaders. "Edmundo is president in fact and in law," he said, adding that "no one questions the legitimacy of María Corina and Edmundo—what is questioned is the legitimacy of the narco-dictatorship in Venezuela."

The IDEA statement echoes findings reviewed by the Carter Center, which reported González received 67.1% of valid votes in the July 2024 election. Maduro's government rejected those results, and human rights groups have documented patterns of repression, arbitrary detention and political persecution.

Pastrana has been active in denouncing the results since. In early January 2025, he announced that nine former presidents planned to accompany González back to Caracas for his swearing-in. That effort was blocked when Venezuelan authorities denied entry to the group, labeled them "invaders," and threatened González with immediate arrest on charges including treason and usurpation of functions.

The Maduro government had previously accused Pastrana and other former leaders of participating in an "intervention operation" to destabilize the country, claims regional governments have rejected.

IDEA's latest declaration calls on governments across the hemisphere and multilateral bodies to recognize González and Machado and to support a political transition. The group argues that the opposition leadership holds democratic legitimacy and that international recognition is necessary to help resolve Venezuela's prolonged political crisis.