The “imminent” return to the negotiating table between the government and the opposition of Venezuela has, in principle, the approval of the United States, which is a main part of the dialogue as a result of the sanctions imposed on the government of Nicolás Maduro.
Ned Price, a spokesman for the US State Department, said Wednesday afternoon that the priority for the government is “to support the democratic aspirations of the people of Venezuela who have been systematically denied those rights by the Maduro regime.”
“We believe that in a return to Mexico City -or a return to the negotiating table- the regime and the Unitary Platform would be in a position to advance the aspirations of the Venezuelan people to see those rights enshrined, to see those rights protected. rights, and to see those rights restored,” Price said.
However, despite the welcome to the dialogue, the representative of the State Department announced that until progress is made in the restoration of rights, his position “will not change” and “our sanctions policy will be maintained.”
The delegations representing Maduro and the opposition failed to advance last year in the agreements to put an end to the country’s political crisis, which fueled a wave of migration of more than 7 million people. In October 2021, the official delegation withdrew of the table in demand for the extradition of Colombian businessman Alex Saab.
“The policies of the Maduro regime, and this is evidenced throughout the world, have generated poor economic, political, and human rights conditions in Venezuela,” Price said.
The talks, facilitated by Norway, will cover the presidential elections, the status of hundreds of political prisoners, US sanctions and a “social agreement” to provide humanitarian aid and with which they would seek to use 3,000 million dollars through a fund managed by the UN.
Petro’s visit to Maduro
The State spokesman also made reference to the visit that Colombian President Gustavo Petro made on Tuesday to Maduroensuring that the United States respects “the sovereign rights of governments to draw up their own foreign policy.”
However, he called on “democratic governments to defend the norms that have been violated by authoritarian regimes such as Maduro’s in Venezuela.”
The State Department would have urged Colombia to continue working with its partners in multilateral forums to “advocate for a democratic and prosperous hemisphere, as well as to hold accountable governments that have violated democratic rights and democratic norms,” including those norms that are enshrined in the Inter-American Democratic Charter.
This visit was the first by a Colombian president to Venezuela since 2016, when former President Juan Manuel Santos was in the country.
“We had the opportunity to meet with President Petro and his team just a few weeks ago. Of course, Venezuela was at the top of the agenda. We thank Colombia for the important role it is playing in hosting some 2 million Venezuelan refugees. And we discussed ways we can work together with Colombia to hold the Maduro regime accountable,” Price concluded.
During the meeting between Maduro and Petro, the possibility of Venezuela’s re-entry into the Andean Community of Nations (CAN) and the Inter-American Human Rights System was raised. It was also pointed out that he would work on a total opening of the borders.
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