Johnson flew to Venezuela for unofficial talks

Boris Johnson flew to Venezuela last month for a private meeting with the country’s President Nicolás Maduro. The talks were unofficial and not paid for by the UK government, the BBC has been told. It is not clear who initiated or paid for the visit. Mr Maduro has ruled Venezuela since 2013.

The UK has an embassy in the country but no ambassador, though it does have a charge d‘affaires, Colin Dick. The visit is unusual given the former prime minister is not a member of the government anymore, and because of the current diplomatic tensions between the UK and Venezuela. Venezuela will hold presidential elections on 28 July. The incumbent president is expected to stand.

Mr Maduro called it an “act of hostile provocation#34%;. The election will take place in the capital, Caracas, where the incumbent president will stand. Last year, Mr Johnson, who had left his post in Downing Street in September 2022, made an unannounced visit to the Ukrainian capital Kyiv where he met President Volodymyr Zelensky. He then stepped down as MP in June 2023 after facing some criticism over how many parliamentary votes he was missing.

Mr Zelesnky returned to Kyiv last month after his Caribbean holiday. He met Mr Zheleznky on the second anniversary of the Russian invasion. The two men met in a hotel in the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, on the day of the anniversary.

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