BOGOTÁ – The governments of 20 countries on three continents have proposed, at a conference convened by Colombian President Gustavo Petro, a gradual and balanced solution to the crisis in neighboring Venezuela, with the lifting of sanctions against this government in exchange for free and fair elections. .

The conference, Tuesday, April 25, adopted Petro’s thesis of moving towards a “two-track” solution: a calendar of presidential elections scheduled for 2024 “so that the people can decide freely and sovereignly what they want”, and that the sanctions are lifted as demanded by Caracas.

Since President Nicolás Maduro was re-elected in 2018 in elections where the majority of opponents abstained, deeming them fraudulent, the United States, Canada and certain European countries have increased their economic and financial sanctions against the authorities and Venezuelan state enterprises.

Maduro blames the sanctions for the economic debacle of the country, which in the second decade of this century lost four-fifths of its gross domestic product, plunged the majority of the population into poverty and caused the exodus of more than seven millions of Venezuelans abroad, especially to neighbors like Colombia.

At the same time, the powers in Venezuela, all in the hands of the ruling party, have hardened the institutional and electoral seat of the opposition -there are more than 360 political, civilian and military prisoners-, with officially banned parties and leaders disqualified as potential candidates. , a harbinger of a non-competitive choice.

The Venezuelan political crisis, which captured the region’s attention in the first two decades of this century, will then continue in the third with no solution in sight, according to the fear and interest expressed by the Bogotá conference. .

The governments of Germany, Argentina, Barbados, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Spain, United States, France, Honduras, Italy and Mexico, host country of some broken negotiations between the government and the United States, participated, represented by foreign ministers, ambassadors and other officials Venezuelan opposition.

Similarly, Norway, a country that facilitates negotiations in Mexico, Portugal, the United Kingdom, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (through its Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves, an ally of Maduro), the South Africa, Turkey and the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell.

A 250-word statement after the meeting said there were “common positions were identified” around three issues, starting with “the need to establish an electoral timetable that allows for the holding of free, transparent elections and with all the guarantees for all stakeholders”. ”.

In this sense, “the importance of taking into account the recommendations of the European Union Election Observation Mission 2021” was mentioned, which after the regional elections criticized the arbitrary political disqualifications, the pro-government advantage and lack of judicial independence.

The conference also agreed that “the measures agreed to the satisfaction of the parties (the government and the platform that brings together the main opposition groups) go hand in hand with the lifting of the various sanctions”.

And then “that the continuation of the negotiation process facilitated by the Kingdom of Norway that took place in Mexico is accompanied by the acceleration of the establishment of the single trust fund for social investment in Venezuela”.

In Mexico last November, the government and the opposition platform agreed to manage that $3 billion of Venezuelan state funds imprisoned in banks in the United States and Europe as part of the sanctions be released for social investments under the coordination of UN agencies.

Given delays in releasing resources, the Maduro government has refused to resume dialogue with Mexico, and is also demanding an end to sanctions and the release of Colombian businessman Alex Saab, whom Caracas credits with being its diplomat, detained and prosecuted for several crimes. in the USA.

Finally, the speakers announced that they will meet again to follow “the evolution of what has been achieved” during their meeting in Bogotá,

“It seems that the intention of the Colombian government is for the 20 countries that participated in the conference to form a permanent group”, observed Mariano de Alba, consultant to the organization which analyzes conflicts International Crisis Groupbased in Brussels.

De Alba pointed out that “there was no accomplishment at the conference, but the statement shows what should happen: the United States is accelerating the establishment of the Social Accord fund, Maduro returns to the Mexico to negotiate electoral guarantees and, if they materialize, Washington would lift sanctions”.

Reactions from the suitors in Venezuela were positive and grateful to the conference, but each side focused on its respective priority, which bodes for further difficult and possibly protracted negotiations, if they materialize.

A few minutes after the reading of the final declaration in Bogotá, the Venezuelan government reiterated “the imperative need to lift each of the unilateral, illegal and harmful coercive measures of international law that constitute an aggression against the entire Venezuelan population”.

In addition, it “demands the return of Venezuelan state assets held illegally by foreign countries and financial institutions.”

It “also reaffirms that the way forward in political dialogue involves full respect for the commitment made at the negotiating table in Mexico for the creation of a social fund (…) which includes investments in the health, education, public services and risk mitigation”.

Finally, he demanded “the immediate release of the Venezuelan diplomat Alex Saab, unjustly detained in the United States of America”.

A statement from the opposition platform celebrated that “there was a consensus of all participating countries on the urgency of resuming, without excuses or later, the negotiation process established in Mexico”.

The platform hopes that the common positions presented in Bogotá “will give the necessary impetus to move forward on sensitive issues, such as the release of all political prisoners”.

Likewise, in “a timetable that allows us to save democracy through the holding of free, transparent elections and with guarantees for all Venezuelans”.

They added the proposal to take advantage of the international and regional context to create a group of countries that are friends of the negotiations in Mexico.

The meeting was set to be changed with the surprise arrival in Bogotá of Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaidó, who served as the country’s nominal president for three years, as Maduro’s counterpart, according to the report. National Legislative Assembly elected in 2015 with an opposition majority.

The Petro government quickly placed Guaidó on a plane that took him to the city of Miami, United States, where he would consider seeking asylum.

Petro, finally, reiterated his thesis that Venezuela must return to the inter-American human rights system, from which Caracas withdrew several years ago, as well as to the Organization of American States, from which it s is retired in 2019.

AE/HM