The United States has called for a “good faith” dialogue process that it will resume with the government of Nicolás Maduro in Venezuela and reiterated its request that the presidential elections on July 28 in the South American country be competitive and inclusive.
“We welcome dialogue in good faith. We are aware that democratic change will not be easy and requires serious commitment,” a spokesman for the White House National Security Council told EFE.
The Biden administration is committed to “supporting the will of the Venezuelan people and finding a path to democratic governance through competitive and inclusive elections,” the same source added.
At a later press conference, State Department deputy spokesman Vedant Patel declined to provide further details on the talks, but stressed that last year’s Barbados Agreement between Chavismo and the opposition “is the best way to restore the democracy that Venezuelans deserve.”
Necessary dialogue
The Biden administration made these comments following Maduro announced that he would resume his dialogue with the US authorities on Wednesday.
“After thinking regarding it for two months, I have accepted. Next Wednesday, talks with the United States will resume,” the Venezuelan president said on Monday in his weekly television program.
Maduro said that this new round of negotiations will be for the United States to “comply with the agreements signed in Qatar and to reestablish the terms of the dialogue with respect, without manipulation.”
The President of Parliament, Chavista Jorge Rodríguez, will be the representative for the Caribbean nation in this dialogue process.
Since March 2022, when a White House delegation traveled to Caracas to meet with Maduro, talks between the United States and Venezuela have been intermittent and with ups and downs.
Lifting of sanctions
As a result of that dialogue, the United States partially lifted sanctions on Venezuela last October, but the Biden administration reversed the relief six months later due to the electoral disqualification of opposition leader María Corina Machado.
However, thanks to negotiations, Venezuela managed – among other things – to obtain the release of Colombian businessman Alex Saab, accused of being Maduro’s front man, who was imprisoned in Miami until last December as part of a prisoner exchange.
Washington / EFE
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2024-07-04 03:53:09
