Opposition parties in Venezuela is a new time (UNT) And the popular will (VP) Congratulated this Monday jose raul molino, He was elected President of Panama for the period 2024-2029, after the elections that took place on Sunday, in which he obtained 34.4% of the votes.

Through the presidential elections scheduled for July 28, in which both parties support Edmundo González Urrutia, the candidate supported by the opposition coalition Democratic Unionist Platform.

“We hope that you will be more willing to contribute to the re-institutionalization of our nation Better strengthen bilateral relations “In the democracy we will soon see in Venezuela,” the VP added.

For his part, the opposition candidate for the presidency twice Henrique Capriles Congratulating Molino via the same social network, he expressed his hope that “this change” would mean “new opportunities and improvements” for Venezuelans living in Panama.

With more than 90% of the votes counted, Molino received 34.4%, compared to 25% for the anti-regime candidate Ricardo Lombana, 16% for former President Martin Torrijos (2004-2009), and 11.2% obtained by Romulo Roo, from the Democrats. It changes.

It was Molyneux, 64, who appeared at the top of the few polls released before the vote He was appointed at the last minute by the Electoral Tribunal As the candidate of the Save Panama Alliance, made up of the Achieving Goals and Alianza parties, to replace the incompetent former president Ricardo Martinelli (2009-2014).

Panama is one of the countries that expressed “concern” about the situation in Venezuela They called on the South American country to hold “free and transparent” presidential elections in which President Nicolas Maduro will seek re-election for a second time.

Among his election promises, Molino proposed closing the border crossing with Colombia, in the harsh jungle, in the face of the migration crisis. “We will close Daryan and repatriate all these people accordingly, while respecting human rights,” he added. They mentioned in BBC From one of his interventions during his adventures in Panama.

In the Spanish version of the British media, it indicated that the next president of Central America, who will take office next July, He confirmed that he is able to stop the migrants because he knows the area and confirms that he did so with the fighters of the extinct Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia. During his tenure as Minister of Security in 2010, during the administration of Ricardo Martinelli, who specifically supported him in these elections.

According to the Panamanian authorities, as of February of this year, about 68,400 migrants crossed irregularly through the Darien Forest, that is, a 33% increase over the same period in 2023, when 45,727 people passed in search of achieving the American dream. Thus he broke records again.

(With information from EFE)