Toronto (Canada), November 7 (EFE) .- Canada said this Monday that it “encouraged” Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro to “immediately” resume negotiations in Mexico with the opposition, suspended since the end of 2021.

A spokesperson for the Canadian Foreign Ministry told Efe that the best solution to the crisis Venezuela is going through is one negotiated with the opposition.

“For this reason, Canada supports the return to the paralyzed negotiation process organized by Mexico and facilitated by Norway. Canada encourages Maduro’s delegation to resume these negotiations immediately,” Jason Kung, spokesperson for the Canadian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The Venezuelan government and opposition began dialogue in August 2021 in Mexico, but three months later Caracas suspended meetings to protest the extradition to the United States of Colombian businessman Álex Saab , alleged figurehead of Maduro.

The Canadian executive stressed that it is “deeply concerned about the erosion of democracy in Venezuela” as well as the destabilizing effect that the displacement of 7.1 million Venezuelans who have left their country due to the crisis political and economic causes in the region.

Canada has denounced the Maduro government to the International Criminal Court (ICC) for human rights violations in Venezuela and has imposed several rounds of sanctions against Venezuelan authorities.

But the last time Ottawa imposed sanctions on Venezuela was more than three years ago, in June 2019, when the Minister of Foreign Affairs was Chrystia Freeland.

Since Freeland left the ministry in November of the same year, Canada has not issued any new sanctions against the Maduro regime. ECE

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