Tongan Ambassador, HE Mr Viliami Va‘inga Tōnē fist-bumped Nicolás Maduro Moros, the controversial President of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, on Tuesday August 24, at the Miraflores Palace in Caracas, Venezuela, after he presented his Letter of Credence.

COVID-19 travel restrictions have meant that HE Mr Tōnē had not previously been able to present his diplomatic letter of credence in Caracas. He has been posted in New York since 2018 as Tonga's Permanent Representative to the United Nations in New York, and Ambassador to Washington.

The diplomatic relations with Venezuela were first establshed 14 years ago in 2007 by the Sevele government.

Tonga's Ministry of Foreign Affairs in a statement today said that friendly relations between the Kingdom of Tonga and the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela were reaffirmed by the Ambassador.

“During Ambassador Tōnē’s official visit to Venezuela, he held bilateral meetings with ministers, including the Hon. Minister of Foreign Affairs, as well as with director generals of selected line ministries and organizations for which they had productive discussions on how to build meaningful cooperation,” the statement from the Embassy of Tonga in New York said.

Last Friday Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro appointed a new foreign minister. The website for the Gonbierno Bolivariano de Venezuela [2] reported on 23 August that Felix Plasenci the People's Power Minister for Foreign Relations had received the Tongan Ambassador at a formal reception in Caracas.

The Venezuelan Vice-minister for Student Welfare of the People’s Power Ministry for University Education, Domiciano Graterol, also met Ambassador Tone, Gonbierno Bolivariano de Venezuela [3] reported.

A spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Nuku'alofa said today that the presentation of the credentials was a matter of diplomatic formality that had not been possible with Caracas for the current Ambassador until this opportunity arose. It was not about politics but diplomatic policy. “The relationships between governments remain paramount,” they said.

Disputed presidency

Nicolás Maduro Moros has been president of Venezuela since 2013 with his presidency under dispute since 2019. He has ruled Venezuela by decree since 2015 through powers granted to him by the ruling party legislature. The United Socialist Party of Venezuela [4] is a socialist political party, which has been the ruling party of Venezuela since 2010.

It has been reported that he is currently the subject of a preliminary examination by the International Criminal Court into alleged crimes against humanity. China, Cuba, Russia, Iran, and Turkey support Maduro and denounce what they call interference in Venezuela's domestic affairs.

Following Maduro's rise to power in 2013 U.S. sanctions were imposed to address the ongoing deterioration of democracy and human rights in the country. The U.S. government greatly increased sanctions [5] on the country over the last four years.

On 26 March 2020, the U.S. Department of Justice indicted Maduro on charges of drug trafficking and narco-terrorism, and the Department of State offered a $15 million reward for information that helps "bring him to justice".