Foreign Minister sees “light of hope” in Colombia, Mexico and Brazil’s handling of Venezuela

Colombian Foreign Minister Luis Gilberto Murillo said Thursday that he sees a “ray of hope” in the way Colombia, Mexico and Brazil are handling the crisis in Venezuela and said that the three countries will publish a new statement today on the work they are doing.

“The vast majority of countries look favorably on the diplomatic efforts being made by Presidents (Colombia’s Gustavo) Petro, (Brazil’s Luiz Inácio) Lula, and (Mexico’s) Andrés Manuel López Obrador, there is a ray of hope there,” Murillo told reporters.

The senior Colombian official, who is participating in the inauguration of the ‘Latin American and Caribbean Ministerial Summit for Artificial Intelligence: ColombIA’, stressed that the three countries have spoken with the Venezuelan government and the “different oppositions.”

“The presidents have been in constant dialogue. What we did yesterday was a meeting with the three foreign ministers: Alicia Bárcenas (from Mexico) and Mauro Vieira (from Brazil), and we are going to issue a statement today,” Murillo added.

He said that the three nations maintain “the position that it is very important that the counting be completed, that it be reviewed, that implies minutes, tables, etc., that it be done in a transparent manner.”

“As President Petro has said, as the Pope (Francis) has said, as almost everyone has said, so that the truth is known, there must be an agreement. Some countries have even changed their position to support this effort by Colombia, Brazil and Mexico,” he added.

The United States government on Tuesday explicitly supported the mediation of the three countries, and the acting head of the State Department for Latin America, Mark Wells, said that Washington is “in favor of dialogue” and that it maintains “very close” coordination with these three governments.

Murillo also said that “we must adhere to the protection of the human rights of the population in Venezuela” and that “any act, any action, that leads to more violence from any of the actors or that reflects attitudes that are seen as repression must be rejected, must be condemned.”

“That is Colombia’s position. You will be informed of the statement that will be issued in the next few hours and we obviously have a route with the foreign ministers and the presidents,” he concluded.

Venezuela’s National Electoral Council (CNE) declared President Nicolás Maduro’s victory in the July 28 elections without providing evidence, while the opposition posted thousands of voting records on a website that would give an overwhelming victory to Edmundo González Urrutia, supported by leader María Corina Machado, who was prevented from registering her candidacy.

Bogota / EFE