The former president of Colombia Juan Manuel Santos (2010-2018) This Monday, October 14, he criticized the “very soft policy” of the United States regarding Venezuela and considered that his country can do “much more” to resolve the Venezuelan political crisis.
>>> You may be interested: Edmundo González says he will return to Venezuela on January 10 to take office as president
Interviewed at the World in Progress forum in Barcelona, Santos referred to the opponent Edmundo González, who intervened previously, as “elected president” of Venezuela, who deserves “solidarity and needs it from the entire world.”
“It surprises me, for example, how a country that has traditionally defended democracies, especially in the region, like the United Stateshas maintained a very soft policy towards Venezuela,” described the former president.
He added that Venezuela “practically does not exist in North American foreign policy and that signal has been very counterproductive.”
Santos questioned the ambivalence of the current Colombian government
“The entire world and democracy, above all, are so worried about this whole autocratic rise. We should, then, react with more vehemence, with more determination, with more perseverance. And I think that is what Venezuela needs,” he proposed.
Regarding Colombia, he noted “it is not doing anything against Venezuela.” The position of his government, now chaired by Gustavo Petro, “has been ambivalent.”
“He has said that he is willing to mediate, but there is a moment where mediation becomes complicity,” Santos said in this forum, organized by the Spanish communication group Prisa.
“We cannot continue with ambiguous positions, trying to see if there is a possibility or there is no possibility, because that is what has allowed, unfortunately, the regime (of President Nicolás Maduro) to consolidate, to screw itself.”
It is for the interest of Colombia, Venezuela and the entire region, Santos stressed, That this transition be made and made as soon as possible, and hopefully it will be “peaceful and effective.”
The need for a “carrot and stick” in negotiations
Asked about a possible solution, he recalled how his government attracted the FARC guerrilla to the negotiating table to finally agree on peace.
“In every negotiation, a carrot is required. But a stick is also required, and we need a combination,” he summarized.
“What would the carrot be like? Well, give the (Venezuelan) regime a dignified exit. We mentioned it to President (US Donald) Trump. A dignified exit means that we must suspend negotiations in the investigations at the International Criminal Court, to return the resources that have been frozen… In short, there are many carrots.”
And the garrote, according to Santos, “it must be much more effective in persecuting those who at this moment are determining that the regime is consolidated, that they are violating human rights, that they are committing atrocities, crimes against humanity; for example, encourage much more research in the International Criminal Court.”
“The families of those responsible for the regime who are here in Europe, in Spain, in the United States, must be made to feel that support for the regime costs.” International pressure has to continue,” Santos asked.
During the 2017 United Nations General Assembly, he recalled, Trump met with him and the presidents of Argentina, Brazil, Panama, and Peru to talk about Venezuela.
“He (Trump), half jokingly, said: ‘Why don’t we invade.’ I said, ‘Don’t even think about mentioning that, and we argued there for three minutes about that stupidity,'” Santos recalled. He added that Venezuela is like a plane without gasoline. “And we all benefit from a soft landing.”
>>> You can read: Colombian Senate approved proposal and accepts Edmundo González as president of Venezuela
Source: https://www.noticiascaracol.com/mundo/juan-manuel-santos-pide-solidaridad-con-edmundo-gonzalez-es-lo-que-necesita-venezuela-cb20
