12/07/2019.-  In the context of the third round of negotiations being prepared between the Bolivarian Government and sectors of the opposition in the Caribbean island of Barbados, to continue on Sunday July 14, both parties agreed on the installation of a negotiating table to reach a solution to the crisis in Venezuela.

The Government and sectors of the Venezuelan opposition agreed to establish a permanent negotiating table in order to resolve the political situation, after concluding a round of dialogue in Barbados and immediately initiating internal consultations in order to advance in the negotiation. What merits attention is the silence of the United States on these advances.

The Norwegian Government, that is backing these conversations, pointed out that “as part of this process, a working group has been established that will work in a way that is continuous and timely, with the goal of arriving at an agreed solution in the framework of the possibilities that are offered by the [Venezuelan] Constitution”. There is no date foreseen for a new meeting, since for the moment, the work will be centred on the sectorial working groups.

The Norwegian Foreign minister, Ine Eriksen Soreide, encouraged the parties to assume maximum caution in their commentaries and declarations with respect to the process. It was an “intense day of work with six points of work”, said President Nicolás Maduro, who urged the opposition to avoid being deceived about the agenda of the dialogue, since among the adverse sectors to his Government there are great contradictions.

In response to this advance in the dialogue, the President of the National Constituent Assembly, Diosdado Cabello, affirmed that presidential elections, planned for 2024, will not be brought forward, thus denying a manipulative version of the daily El Nacional that affirmed that the next presidential elections would be between February and April of the coming year, as an elegant exit of the much-questioned President Maduro.

“The bangs that remain to be trimmed refer to the composition of the National Electoral Council, which will be completely renewed”, added the daily. “The four leaders of the main opposition political parties have met and agreed that Guaidó will be presented as their candidate”.

It was an attempt to raise the devalued figure of the self-proclaimed interim President Juan Guaidó, who hoped to pressure the Barbados meeting with “massive” demonstrations that obviously did not take place. Guaidó underlined that the opposition should work in all the scenarios, including the Oslo initiative and the return of Venezuela to the Inter-American Treaty of Reciprocal Assistance, in order to achieve a prompt (military?) exit to the crisis.

It is worth recalling that between 2016 and 2018, both parties took part in some initiatives of dialogue, with the support of various countries, ex-presidents and the Vatican, that did not reach any agreement and ended up deepening the confrontations between the parties, since when they were on the point of signing an agreement in the Dominican Republic, the representatives of the opposition refused to sign due to an express order from Washington.

The U.S. government continues with its plans: the virtual embassy in Venezuela assured that its mission is to achieve "positive change" in the country with the departure of constitutional president Nicolas Maduro. He also indicated that the sanctions "do not have to be permanent," but can be adjusted "for those who take concrete and meaningful steps to re-establish democratic and constitutional order”.

Through the Twitter account, @usembassyve, the diplomatic body serves as a propaganda outlet for the self-proclaimed Guaidó, showing what his "government plan" would be if he assumes the presidency. It is an official account of the U.S. State Department, which is administered from Washington, according to the user profile.

Meanwhile, the United States continues with rising sanctions: the Treasury Department has sanctioned the General Directorate of Military Counterintelligence (Dgcim) of Venezuela following the death, through apparent tortures, of soldier Rafael Acosta while he was detained in that centre for conspiring against Maduro.

The sanction includes the blocking of all goods and assets that the Dgcim holds directly or indirectly under the jurisdiction of the United States, as well as the prohibition of any legal transaction that involves US individuals or entities.

Approaches

Delegates of the Constitutional Government of Nicolas Maduro and of the opposition sector led by the self-proclaimed interim president Juan Guaidó met in Barbados on Monday July 8, giving continuity to approaches initiated in May in Oslo.

The delegate of the Government in the dialogues with the opposition in Barbados, Hector Rodriguez, said that in the first encounters “we have heard the aspirations and requests that were made by different Venezuelan opposition” sectors, with respect to a possible agreement. “We have installed the permanent negotiating tables and we agreed to work together for the peace of the country”, added Rodriguez, without adding more details.

“This will not be a simple path”, said Rodriguez, the young governor of the state of Miranda. But, as a representative of the Government, he was convinced that the parties involved could reach an agreement for peace “in order to mutually recognize each other. There is a will to work (. . .) We seek an agreement for cohabitation”.

“Venezuelans need responses and results. Our delegation will make consultations to advance and put an end to the suffering of Venezuelans”, tweeted the opposition parliamentarian, Stalin González.

The participating delegations were the same who took part in the dialogue in Oslo in the month of May: representing the Government were the Ministers of Communication (Jorge Rodríguez) and of Foreign Relations (Jorge Arreaza) and the Governor of the State of Miranda, Héctor Rodríguez.

For the opposition, the parliamentarian Stalin González, the former Mayor of Baruta, Gerardo Blyde, the former Minister of Transport and Communications (1992) Fernando Martínez Mottola and the former rector of the National Electoral Council, Vicente Diaz.

Meanwhile, the visit to Caracas of the Uruguayan-Spanish Enrique Iglesias took place, representing the European Union and the Groups of International Contact, who met with Maduro and with Guaidó (separately), although the agenda of someone seen as the defender of the interests of European transnational enterprises is unknown.

Barbados will once again be the seat of the next meeting, in search of a solution to the crisis. But the United States does not take part in these meetings, although their representation tends to be exercised by the delegates of the Venezuelan opposition, with a script and funding provided by Washington.

(Translated for ALAI by Jordan Bishop)

-Victoria Korn is a Venezuelan journalist, associated with the Latin American Centre of Strategic Analysis (CLAE, estrategia.la)

http://estrategia.la/2019/07/12/venezuela-gobierno-y-oposicion-buscan-un-acuerdo-que-eeuu-no-parece-apoyar/