Europeans, Latin Americans to meet on Venezuela crisis

venezuela_crisis People cross the Simon Bolivar International Bridge on the border between Tachira in Venezuela and Cucuta in Colombia | PTI

Venezuela's opposition leader Juan Guaido has the support of leaders from 40 countries. And yet, the country's humanitarian crisis is far from being solved. An international meeting including Europeans, Latin Americans will meet to negotiate a solution to the Venezuelan crisis. And even as President Nicolas Maduro and opposition leader Guaido are divided over allowing humanitarian aid into the crisis-wrecked country, the meeting was set to open on Thursday in the Uruguayan capital. Montevideo.

The goal of of the meeting is creating conditions for a peaceful political process. The initiative, originally launched by Mexico and Uruguay as a "neutral countries" conference on Venezuela, has evolved into a meeting of a "Contact Group" launched by the EU in late January, and joined by Costa Rica, Bolivia and Ecuador.

Maduro on Wednesday rejected an EU ultimatum to organise snap presidential elections. He however welcomed the meeting and expressed support for "all steps and initiatives to facilitate dialogue". But Guaido, who on January 23 declared himself Venezuela's interim president and is now recognised by 40 countries, has strongly rejected any talks with the government, dismissing it as a way for Maduro to buy time.

"The Venezuelan government ... will not lend itself to any kind of false dialogue," he reiterated Wednesday.

The UN had warned Venezuela against using aid as a pawn during a political stand off. Guaido had also warned the army of its responsibilities after soldiers blocked a key border bridge, the route meant for aid to enter the country.

Venezuela's army had to choose between "a dictatorship that does not have an iota of humanity, or to side with the constitution" from which he takes his legitimacy, Guaido said in an interview on Colombian radio. Venezuela's military was deliberately blocking the aid "under Maduro's orders,” said US Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo.

Maduro’s government denied the existent crisis, blaming economic problems on sanctions. The country is currently struggling with hunger, preventable diseases and hyperinflation forecast at 10 million percent. US and other countries have offered help, but Maduro has turned it down by saying, Venezuelans were “not beggars”. Maduro, is supported by Russia, China, Turkey, Cuba and Iran. Acceptance of aid according to him would open the way to allow a US military invasion.

The 56-year-old has repeatedly accused the United States of fomenting a coup. But while tensions remained at a peak, participants in Thursday's meeting intended to "find a way between" the positions of US President Donald Trump and Russia's Vladimir Putin, Turkey's Recep Tayyip Erdogan and others.

Even around the negotiating table, views are divided.

Ahead of the meeting, Uruguay and Mexico — among the few Latin American countries that did not recognise Guaido — proposed a dialogue without pre-conditions.

France, Germany, Britain, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain and Sweden are among the 21 out of 28 EU member states that officially support Guaido. Italy has not done so.

Mexico agreed to attend the meeting, but did not wish to formally join the Contact Group.

Meanwhile, 35-year-old National Assembly chief Guaido has continued to ramp up pressure on the regime with a series of mass protests, the next of which is scheduled for February 12.

His fledgling alternative administration will hold talks in Washington on February 14 on responding to "the largest hemispheric humanitarian crisis in modern history".