Boris Johnson served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom between 2019 and 2022. During his tenure, he recognized Juan Guaidó as the interim president of Venezuela and was a strong critic of Nicolás Maduro. After leaving office, he traveled to Venezuela in 2024 to meet Maduro in person in Caracas, under the sponsorship of an investment fund. Photograph: Official portrait of Boris Johnson as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
Guacamaya,September 9, 2025. The former British prime minister interrupted his vacation in the Dominican Republic to travel to Venezuela in February 2024, where he held a private meeting with Nicolás Maduro. Leaked documents suggest the existence of subsequent payments related to a contract with the firm Merlyn Advisors. The Guardian has not been able to confirm that these payments were related to the trip to Caracas.
Former UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson made a private trip to Caracas in February 2024, taking a break from a family vacation in the Dominican Republic. According to information published by The Guardian based on documents leaked by the organization Distributed Denial of Secrets (DDoS), Johnson met with Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, whom he had publicly criticized during his time at Downing Street.
The files—known as the Boris files—include emails, contracts, and invoices indicating that, just a few weeks after the meeting, Johnson received a payment of £240,000 (approximately $325,000). The money is alleged to have been related to a contract signed in September 2023 with the investment firm Merlyn Advisors, led by Dutch businessman Maarten Petermann.
The Contract and the Transactions According to the leaked documentation,the agreement with Merlyn Advisors stipulated the possibility of payments of up to £1.6 million per year, in addition to £35,000 per month intended to fund a think tank in the UK. Internal records indicate that Johnson’s office sent an invoice for £240,000 to Petermann on March 15, 2024, which was paid on May 7. Johnson denied receiving any money linked to meetings in Venezuela and stated that he had no contractual relationship with Merlyn Advisors.
Content of the Meeting in Caracas The trip was reported in March 2024 by The Sunday Times and other media outlets,which indicated that Johnson had informed the Foreign Office, then led by David Cameron, about the visit. According to subsequent statements, Johnson discussed topics with Maduro such as the internal political situation, the territorial dispute over Essequibo between Venezuela and Guyana, and matters related to the war in Ukraine. His office described the visit as a personal initiative and not an official mission of the British government.
The Precedent of Juan Guaidó In previous years,the UK was one of the governments that recognized Juan Guaidó as interim president (2020), and Guaidó was even received at Downing Street. However, throughout 2022–2024, the political structure of the opposition centered around Guaidó weakened due to shifts, legal measures, and changes in international recognition; in 2023–2024, his leadership lost the centrality it had at the beginning of the standoff with Maduro. Therefore, in 2025, his ability to act as a direct axis for the foreign policy of third-party actors is limited compared to previous years.
Normalization, Assets, and Debts: The Context of 2025 In recent years,the West and Venezuela have experienced episodes of confrontation and pragmatic contacts. Starting in 2019, several Western governments did not recognize Maduro’s legitimacy; however, geopolitical factors—including the effects of the war in Ukraine on energy markets—encouraged explorations of communication channels with Caracas. These approaches were both state-led and informal and have included discussions about the reopening of diplomatic relations and mechanisms for managing international assets and liabilities.
A central piece of these debates has been the litigation and retention of Venezuelan assets abroad, particularly Venezuelan gold held in the vault of the Bank of England and other international reserves. English courts and legal proceedings between the boards—the one supporting Maduro and the one appointed by the opposition—determined during 2020–2023 who controlled certain assets and payments; this jurisprudence continued to be relevant in 2024–2025 to define which assets could be released, under what conditions, and whether there were outstanding obligations to international creditors. The dispute over access to and management of these assets has been a key factor in any normalization negotiations.
Within this framework, the participation of private actors (funds, advisors, and consultants) in contacts with Caracas has raised public questions about whether some initiatives sought to open parallel channels to facilitate commercial agreements or the resolution of debts. Leaks related to Johnson’s visit are interpreted, in some sectors, as part of a larger dynamic in which private interests and foreign policy objectives intersect. At the same time, governments and courts have emphasized the need for formal procedures for any transfer of assets or recognition of creditors.
Who is Maarten Petermann?
A key name in all of this is Maarten Petermann,born in 1978 in the Netherlands, residing in England, and director of Merlyn Advisors TLD since 2019. He has experience in managing investment funds and is involved in partnerships such as Voulez Capital Club LLP and No. 26 Willow Road Limited. During the February 2024 trip, he accompanied Johnson and presented himself as an informal intermediary in contacts with Caracas.
Other International Contacts The leaked documents also mention Johnson’s activities after leaving office in 2022:meetings with business figures such as Peter Thiel and efforts to offer consulting services to high-ranking officials in Saudi Arabia. These connections are part of the package of questions about the separation between private work and the political capital accumulated during his term.
Official Reactions As of the time of these publications,neither the Venezuelan government nor the UK embassy in Caracas has issued statements providing new details about the meeting. In London, authorities and observers have raised doubts about compliance with the rules regulating paid activities after holding public office and about the need for transparency in operations that may involve state interests or frozen assets.
With information from DW, El Tiempo, and The Guardian.
