Petro-promoted Venezuela summit ends with little certainty

The international conference held in Bogotá to unblock the dialogue between the Venezuelan government and the opposition ended with little certainty, an appointment marked by the sudden arrival of the Venezuelan opponent Juan Guaidó in Colombia, this Monday, and his subsequent sudden departure to the United States.

There was no joint statement from the leaders of the 19 countries, including the US and Spain, who attended the closed-door meeting called by Colombian President Gustavo Petro.

The only thing in front of the media, at the end of the summit, was said by the Colombian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Álvaro Leyva, who assured that the conclusions of the meeting were the need to establish a transparent timetable with the aim of holding free presidential elections in Venezuela next year, that the steps agreed upon in the dialogue between the Venezuelan the government and the opposition go hand in hand with the lifting of sanctions, and that the continuation of that dialogue between both sides, which has been paralyzed since November, is accompanied by the effective implementation of a fund of 3,000 million dollars, which comes from Venezuelan funds frozen abroad, which will be managed by the UN and which will carry out social projects agreed between the executive power of Nicolás Maduro and those opposed to his government.

It is a mystery whether the countries participating in the conference, especially the USA, really committed to these measures, because there was no official statement, and behind the scenes it was said that Leyva’s performance was one-sided.

In any case, there are signs from Washington, but also from Brussels, that there could be a loosening of positions: “We are even ready to review the personal sanctions we have applied. The EU does not have economic sanctions that affect the population, but there must be a coordinated process, a calendar process that is mutually acceptable to both parties,” said EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs Josep Borrell to Efe, who attended the meeting in Bogota.

It won’t be easy. On Monday, Maduro made strong demands to return to the negotiating table, such as ending the proceedings against his government at the International Criminal Court for alleged crimes against humanity.