Washington, Apr 20 (EFE).- The US government adviser for Latin America, Juan González, will be part of the delegation that the North American country will send to Colombia to participate in the international conference on Venezuela, a government official confirmed to EFE.
González will be accompanied by special presidential adviser for the Americas Chris Dodd and senior deputy adviser for Homeland Security Jon Finer, the official added.
Colombian President Gustavo Petro said today during a visit to Washington to meet with his US counterpart, Joe Biden, that some 20 foreign ministers will attend the April 25 meeting on Venezuela.
In the case of the US, however, the Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, will not lead the delegation, but those three positions directly linked to the White House will do so.
The conference on Venezuela will try to find ways to reactivate the dialogue between Chavismo and the opposition, stalled since November, and on the table will be US sanctions against the country.
During his meeting with Biden, Petro proposed a strategy that consists of progressively lifting the sanctions against Venezuela as there is progress in electoral matters in the country.
The Joe Biden government has shown itself open to lifting sanctions on Venezuela, but only if concrete steps are taken for free and fair elections, the defense of human rights is strengthened, and corruption is stopped.
In an interview on the NTN24 channel, González qualified the specific steps that the US government expects from Caracas as a step prior to lifting sanctions, which include the definition of an electoral calendar, a voter registry, the validation of political parties and the dispatch of a respected electoral observation mission.
The sanctions against Venezuela became furious under the Government of Donald Trump (2017-2021) with economic restrictions against various Venezuelan officials, including the son of the country’s president, Nicolás “Nicolasito” Ernesto Maduro Guerra, and limits on operations in the US from the company Petróleos de Venezuela (PDVSA), the main source of foreign currency for Caracas.
