The Colombian government will hold an international conference on April 25 to try to reactivate the dialogue between the opposition and the Venezuelan government, which has been stalled since last November and which will have the participation of at least 15 countries.
A new try. Bogotá will be the headquarters of a new platform that seeks to find an understanding between the opposition and the Venezuelan ruling party, although, at least for now, they will discuss reactivating the dialogue without its main protagonists.
The president of Colombia, Gustavo Petro, affirmed that he will speak with the US president, Joe Biden, about a possible lifting of the sanctions against Venezuela, one of his main objectives in the summit on Venezuela that will be held in Colombia.
“More democracy, zero sanctions, is the objective of the conference in Bogotá,” said Petro from the United States, where he participated in the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues of the United Nations, a first station on his agenda for the United States that will conclude in a meeting with Biden, where, according to the Colombian, the sanctions against Venezuela “is an issue to be discussed.”
The left-wing president added that the summit he is organizing in the Colombian capital seeks “no sanctions” and, instead, there is more “democracy” for his neighbor. “I think, without meddling in the internal Venezuelan political discussion, that the path of dialogue, the path of democracy (…) is the right path,” said the Colombian president.
“In other words, let it be what the Venezuelan people, free, without pressure, decide on their immediate future,” he added.
Guaidó to Petro: Is he going to behave as an ally of Maduro or of the Venezuelans?
Among the reactions to the Colombian initiative was the same Government of Venezuela, which recognized the “efforts” of Petro and its international conference.
In a statement released by the foreign minister, Yván Gil, Caracas affirms that the Bogotá conference “will address strategies and commitments to promote political dialogue among Venezuelans, respecting the principles of self-determination and sovereignty” of the country.
But the Maduro government warns that “it will only be possible to advance in the dialogue (…) once all unilateral coercive measures have been annulled,” which are “contrary to international law.”
“The Bolivarian Government reiterates to the Venezuelan people and to the international community the firm willingness to advance in the achievement of concrete agreements with all the political sectors of our country,” added the Executive.
But on Twitter, Petro’s favorite platform to communicate, opposition leader Juan Guaidó questioned the Colombian’s intentions regarding the reactivation of the dialogues and the lifting of sanctions.
“For there to be zero sanctions, we need 100% democracy, the fact that we do not have it is the cause of the sanctions. Democracy is built with concrete actions, not with words,” Guaidó said.
If Maduro says he believes in democracy, we demand that he stop playing with the Venezuelans by saying that he will decide when the presidential elections will take place. That’s why we tell you: #SetTheDate #MyVoteOkay
— Juan Guaidó (@jguaido) April 17, 2023
According to him, the idea of removing the sanctions “extinguishes the possibility of an agreement and will give the regime a blank check to continue violating human rights.” “President Petro, is he going to behave as an ally of Maduro or of the Venezuelans? Will he speak out against political persecution and a free press?” he asked.
Venezuela and its main public officials have been sanctioned by the United States, the European Union and countries like Canada, which accuse the government of Nicolás Maduro of serious human rights violations and corruption.
It is precisely these international sanctions that are the key to the deadlock in the latest dialogues. Maduro claims that the opposition breached the agreement in Mexico, where, according to him, the creation of an economic fund of 3,000 million dollars that Venezuela has frozen abroad was promised and that would supposedly respond to the basic needs of Venezuelans.
But Gerardo Blyde, spokesman for the Unitary Platform delegation in the dialogues in Mexico, explained that what was negotiated has a series of rules for both parties, although, he says, it was never agreed that the resources would be immediately transferred to the Venezuelan government.
Blyde affirms that these resources from the Venezuelan State are being studied and that they would be sent progressively under the United Nations magnifying glass to guarantee transparency in their use, according to the agreement.
Blinken will not be at the conference
The Colombian foreign minister, Álvaro Leyva, commented that the conference on Venezuela will have the presence of fifteen countries, including Latin American and European countries, although he did not provide further details, but he clarified that the participation of the US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, is not expected as It had been rumored, although it was from another representation of the United States.
Leyva met with Maduro in Caracas on Sunday to refine details of the meeting in Bogotá, according to the Colombian Foreign Ministry, although no details of what was discussed were disclosed.
“Venezuelans are victims of a devastating crisis in all spheres of life in society, for which we deserve and salute, from international cooperation and solidarity, an initiative like this to facilitate and reactivate dialogue,” the political movement and United Democratic Venezuela, VDU.
According to them, the meeting is necessary “especially for the Venezuelan people who urgently await measures to overcome the social and humanitarian crisis, understanding that this includes a shared solution on the issue of economic sanctions.”
The reactivation of the dialogues could depend on the success of the meeting in Bogotá, since the opposition and the Maduro government have not officially seen each other since November 2022.
With AP and EFE
