Nicolás Maduro announces that he will restart talks with the United States

Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro announced on Monday, July 1, 2024, that he will restart the dialogue process with the United States Government next Wednesday, after, according to him, having received proposals to resume talks for two months.

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“I have received the proposal for two consecutive months from the Government of the United States to reestablish talks and direct dialogue.“After thinking about it for two months, I have accepted. Talks with the United States will resume next Wednesday,” the president said on his weekly television programme.

Maduro said that this new round of negotiations will require the United States to “comply with the agreements signed in Qatar and to reestablish the terms of dialogue with respect, without manipulation.”

“Besides, Let them be public dialogues, without speculation, we will not be hiding“, he added.

The president said that the president of Parliament, Chavista Jorge Rodríguez, will be the representative for the Caribbean nation in this dialogue process, along with the governor of the state of Miranda (north), Héctor Rodríguez.

“We are going to debate and seek new agreements so that what was signed in Qatar is fulfilled. I want dialogue, I want understanding, I want a future for our relations, I want changes, yes, under the absolute sovereignty and independence of Venezuela“, held.

Talks with the government of Nicolás Maduro have been intermittent

Since March 2022, when a White House delegation traveled to Caracas to meet with Nicolás Maduro, talks between the U.S. and Venezuela have been intermittent, with ups and downs.

The meetings were subsequently repeated in several places, with at least one second visit by a US mission to Caracas.

Among the agreements reached was the partial lifting of US sanctions against Venezuela last October, a relief that was reversed six months later, when Caracas – according to Joe Biden’s administration – failed to comply with what was agreed in the Barbados Agreement, signed with the opposition.

One of the breaches pointed out by the North American country is that the disqualifications of all Venezuelan opposition politicians, who are subject to administrative sanctions, have not been lifted, such as the leader María Corina Machado, who cannot run in the presidential elections on July 28 due to this measure.

However, Venezuela achieved -among other things-, thanks to negotiations, the release of Colombian businessman Alex Saab, identified as a front man for Nicolás Madurowho was imprisoned in Miami until last December, in exchange for the release of around thirty people classified as political prisoners by the Venezuelan authorities.

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