The dialogue between the government and the opposition was suspended in October 2021 after a Colombian businessman, an ally of Maduro, was extradited to the United States on charges of money laundering.
Maduro has indicated on several occasions that in order to negotiate with the opponents again, all sanctions would have to be lifted, among other conditions. The opposition has requested guarantees for the presidential elections, scheduled for the end of 2023 or 2024, although government spokesmen have not ruled out advancing them.
Maduro accuses US discrimination against “entire peoples” at the Summit of the Americas
The United States government released two relatives of the Venezuelan first lady who were in a prison in the country on drug trafficking charges. Maduro also released six former executives from the US refiner Citgo Petroleum, a subsidiary of state-owned PDVSA.
In recent days there has been speculation about a resumption of the process, especially when the international context has changed.
The Russian offensive in Ukraine, after years of a global pandemic, strained relations with Western countries and caused an increase in energy and food prices, but prompted a change in the position of Europe and the United States towards Caracas.
Washington lifted some of its sanctions and the administration of President Joe Biden does not hide the fact that Venezuelan hydrocarbons could be useful in the international market in the midst of an energy crisis.
In the region, the governments of Chile, Colombia and Brazil turned to the left. Petro broke with a century of conservative governments and is the first leftist in power in Colombia.
With information from AFP and Reuters
