Colombian President Gustavo Petro announced this Friday (11) in Paris that the negotiating table between the Venezuelan dictatorship and the opposition should be reactivated in the coming months.
The leftist leader spoke after a meeting that also included Colombian Foreign Minister Alvaro Leyva, Argentine President and Chancellor Alberto Fernández and Santiago Cafiero, Chavista National Assembly leader Jorge Rodríguez, opposition negotiator Gerardo Blyde and a representative of the government of Norway —a country that had been participating as guarantor of the dialogues in Mexico.
In a statement to journalists, Petro said he defended the amnesty of “all political prisoners” in the neighboring country and the “unblocking of the Venezuelan economy”, referring to the end of international sanctions imposed on the regime.
Under the leftist, Colombia resumed diplomatic relations with Venezuela. Earlier this month, the politician met with dictator Nicolás Maduro in Caracas, when he defended the need for integration and regional strengthening.
According to Petro said this Friday, the meeting also discussed the holding of a free election in the country in 2024, a date that is included in the country’s electoral calendar. The dictatorship has not yet confirmed the process, but has been waving the possibility of it under an agreement with the opposition – one of the conditions imposed for this would be the easing of part of the sanctions against the country.
“The amnesty would be for all those who are imprisoned for political reasons. The negotiation in Mexico must lead to guarantees that everyone can participate in the election, if they so wish,” said the Colombian president, who is in the French capital for the World Forum. of Peace.
Also according to the Colombian, Blyde would have insisted on defending guarantees and on the close observation of international actors on the processes in Caracas and Mexico. He also cited the need to de-escalate the persecution of opponents and respect the recommendations of the inter-American human rights system.
The other participants at the Paris meeting, however, have not yet commented on the terms proposed by Petro. There was also no signature of a document ratifying the terms of the negotiation.
Nicolás Maduro has been experiencing a phase of a certain recovery of his image, in the face of the erosion of the opposition -fractured under the leadership of Juan Guaidó- and the indication, expressed by governments of the West, like the American and French, of the need to resort to production of oil in the country at a time of energy crisis triggered by the Ukrainian War.
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