Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido has summoned the United States to moderate the sanctions imposed on Venezuela to facilitate the return of the government delegation to the dialogue table established in Mexico.
“It is on the table, with the aim of strengthening the opposition in its role as interlocutor and the possibility of an agreement,” Guaidó said in an interview with the Bloomberg news agency.
The dictatorship needs to give an answer”, he added. However, the opposition does not give up on continuing to press for “free and fair” elections to be held as soon as possible.
According to Guaidó, the government could return to the negotiating table if “positive actions” are taken. “We hope to start negotiations as soon as possible,” he explained, although he warned that if an agreement is not reached, the sanctions will be tougher and more targeted at people involved in corruption and crimes against humanity.
Regarding the annulment of the recall referendum against the president of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro, Guaidó has opted for mobilization. “Without that option, the challenge we now have is how to mobilize ourselves, how to organize ourselves, how to find spaces for safe participation so that people can express themselves,” he argued.
According to Bloomberg, a spokesman for the State Department has indicated that it does not advance information on actions or sanctions. “The United States, together with our partners and allies, seeks to use multilateral pressure to move Venezuela towards a democratic solution,” he said in a written response to questions from Bloomberg.
The Maduro regime can create a path to sanctions relief by engaging in sincere negotiations with the opposition to create the necessary conditions to allow free and fair elections to be held in Venezuela.”
Guaidó confirms the need for an agreement
The moderation of the sanctions will not take place until a political agreement is reached and complied with, Juan Guaidó has asserted, in statements collected by the Venezuelan outlet Cocuyo Effect.
“We ratify our position and that of our international allies to return to the process in Mexico as soon as possible to achieve a comprehensive agreement. The progressive lifting of sanctions is and remains subject to complying with the points of the agreement. We are ready to achieve it”, Guaidó posted on his Twitter account.
In his opinion, “the international community has few tools to deal with and hold dictators like Maduro, Ortega or Lukashenko accountable.”
Guaidó has asserted in another publication on the same social network that the challenge of sanctions “make them increasingly effective.”
On January 6, the United States ambassador to Venezuela, James Story He pointed out that they are “willing to lift, ease and change the sanctions when there are negotiations that generate changes to restore the institutions and democracy in Venezuela.”
Talks between the Maduro government and the opposition were suspended at the end of last year in response to Cape Verde’s extradition to the United States of a Maduro ally, Álex Saab.
elcapitalfinanciero.com