Venezuelan government, opposition talks begin in Mexico City

Representatives of Venezuela’s government and opposition groups have begun a fresh round of talks in Mexico in efforts to resolve the nation’s persisting political and economic crisis, amid a US-led campaign against Caracas.

Unlike previous talks between the two sides, the ongoing negotiations that commenced on Friday at Mexico City’s National Museum of Anthropology will include more than a dozen countries, among them the Netherlands, Russia, Bolivia, Turkey and Norway, which will play the role of a facilitator.

The two sides have agreed to a memorandum of understanding containing the road map that will guide the dialogue process.

For the talks to advance to a potential agreement, Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro insists that sanctions imposed by the US and its European allies on the country’s officials and institutions be lifted. Caracas says the US-led sanctions are responsible for the OPEC member's economic crisis.

The opposition coalition, for its part, has called for humanitarian aid, including vaccines against COVID-19, to be allowed into Venezuela; dozens of supporters whom it considers as "political prisoners" to be released and its participation in regional elections in November to be guaranteed.

The return to the negotiating table represents a turnaround for the mostly US-backed opposition, which in the past accused Maduro of using dialogue to buy time and defuse international pressure. Caracas abandoned the 2019 dialogue, which took place in Barbados and Norway after Washington tightened sanctions.

MG