Chilean President-elect and conservative Republican politician Jose Antonio Kast expressed his support for any actions that could put an end to the dictatorial rule of Venezuelan President Maduro on Tuesday, December 16. Kast referred to the current regime in Venezuela as a “narco-dictatorship.”
On Tuesday, Argentine President Javier Milei met with Kast in Buenos Aires and held a joint press conference. During the press conference, Kast was asked if he would support US efforts to overthrow the Maduro regime. He responded, “I support ending a dictatorship, putting an end to a narco-dictatorship. We obviously cannot intervene in the situation in Venezuela because we are a small country, but we are also the victims of the terror brought by dictatorial regimes.”
He emphasized that even though Chile is not planning to intervene in Venezuela, “if someone does, then we must be clear that this will solve a huge problem for us, all of Latin America, all of South America, and even European countries.”
Kast opposes abortion and same-sex marriage, pledging to reduce the size of the state. He is often compared to a Chilean version of Trump for proposing border closures, deporting around 300,000 illegal immigrants primarily from Venezuela, combating crime, and reinforcing border security in the north. He promises to make Chile great again.
Kast and Milei held their first meeting on Tuesday, where the two right-wing leaders discussed regional security, combating organized crime, and promoting trade as top priorities.
After the meeting with Milei, Kast told the media that the economic collapse and migrant outflow in Venezuela should be blamed on the left-wing leader Maduro, labeling him as a “narco-dictator.”
“Solving the crisis in Venezuela is not our responsibility, but we will support anyone who can do it,” Kast said.
The Trump administration has recently increased pressure on the Maduro regime through various means in the past few months to force Maduro out of power.