BOGOTÁ.- USA y Colombia This Tuesday they asked Venezuela that the “electoral roadmap” that was agreed last October in Barbados between the Nicolás Maduro regime and the oppositionafter a meeting held between the president Gustavo Petro and the principal deputy national security advisor of the United States, Jon Finer, who was visiting Bogotá.
After the meeting, both governments published a statement in which they stated that Petro and Minister Finer held an “in-depth” dialogue about the “situation in Venezuela” and “reaffirmed the importance of implementing all the elements of the Barbados Agreement“.
Likewise, both governments highlighted the need to “work together with all parties to comply with the agreed electoral roadmap.”
Recently, Petro received criticism for the silence he has maintained regarding the decision of the Supreme Court of Justice (TSJ) of Venezuela, a body controlled by Chavismo, to maintain the disqualification against opposition candidate María Corina Machadopreventing him from participating in the upcoming presidential elections this year.
The Venezuelan political crisis has been part of a broader round of contacts with which the governments of the United States and Colombia want to value their “strategic relationship,” advancing aspects such as migration and compliance with peace agreements in the South American country. added the statement, which did not mention the presidential elections or Machado’s specific situation.
They ask for Petro’s intervention
Juan González, White House advisor, also attended the meeting in Botoga. According to Bloomberg, US officials have asked President Petro to serve as a “bridge” to facilitate communication between the opposition and the Venezuelan regime, as well as between Venezuela and the US.
“Colombia can serve as an important bridge, not only to build dialogue between the opposition and Chavismo, but also, frankly, between us and Venezuela,” González said in a briefing held this Monday, Bloomberg reported.
The Brazilian Government (allied to Chavismo) also gave its endorsement to the Barbados Agreements, after conversations with representatives of the Maduro regime and the opposition in the negotiations.
President Luis Ignacio Lula Da Silva’s advisor Celso Amorim spoke with the president of the Chavista National Assembly, Jorge Rodríguez, and with the main representative of the opposition Unitary Platform, Gerardo Blyde. “The Brazilian Government favors the continuity of dialogues and encourages the parties to continue building mutual trust,” reads a statement.
However, the Brazilian Executive reiterated its criticism of the sanctions policy that the United States maintains against Venezuela because it considers that “they violate International Law and penalize the population.”
Although last year the US relaxed some sanctions it maintained against Venezuela after the signing of the Barbados Agreement, many of them are still in force. These sanctions, especially those directed at the oil, gas and mining industry of Venezuela, were taken with the objective of cutting off financing to the Maduro regime, which maintains repressive practices against the country’s population, and whose officials are involved in gigantic scandals. of corruption.
Source: EDITORIAL / With information from Europa Press / Bloomberg
