Low expectation for Venezuela crisis talks in Dominican Republic

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This was published 6 years ago

Low expectation for Venezuela crisis talks in Dominican Republic

By Jorge Pineda
Updated

Santo Domingo: Members of Venezuela's leftist government and opposition leaders have resumed talks in the Dominican Republic, seeking to reach an agreement to ease a deep political and economic crisis plaguing the country since 2012.

The two sides failed to come to terms in a prior round of talks last December. Expectations among Venezuelans for a deal this time around are low.

A customer reaches for pumpkin slices for sale near empty shelves at a grocery store in Caracas last week.

A customer reaches for pumpkin slices for sale near empty shelves at a grocery store in Caracas last week.Credit: Carlos Becerra

Opposition coalition Democratic Unity "is attending the meeting in good faith, to seek a way of allowing Venezuelans to build a route to the future," tweeted party lawmaker Luis Florido said.

The opposition leaders are demanding that Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro accept humanitarian assistance from abroad to ease a crisis that has led to shortages of food and basic goods for millions of people. They are also calling for the release of several hundred jailed political activists.

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.Credit: Ariana Cubillos

This week hungry mobs ransacked a food collection centre and a supermarket in Venezuela's western Andean state of Merida, and reportedly even slaughtered cattle grazing in a field as unrest over food shortages spread.

An opposition politician from Merida, Carlos Paparoni, said four people had died and 10 were injured in the chaos over two days. Looters plundered a truck carrying corn, a food collection centre, and a state-run supermarket, he said.

Government representatives want the opposition to push for the elimination of sanctions levied last year by US President Donald Trump's administration, which have added to economic woes and complicated a debt restructure.

Maduro said during a summit with leftist allies in Caracas on Friday that he had given his delegation precise instructions to push forward talks in an effort to improve the economy and guarantee a presidential election in 2018.

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Locals are surrounded by Venezuelan Bolivarian National Guards officers as they line up outside a supermarket to buy food at discounted prices, in Caracas, last week.

Locals are surrounded by Venezuelan Bolivarian National Guards officers as they line up outside a supermarket to buy food at discounted prices, in Caracas, last week.Credit: FERNANDO LLANO

"I hope that deliberations at the negotiating table that we've set up in the Dominican Republic...have verifiable and prompt results," he said.

Dominican President Danilo Medina is leading the negotiations, which also include representatives from Bolivia, Chile, Mexico and Nicaragua.

Some of the participating countries have threatened to withdraw if agreements are not reached in this round.

"If there are no concrete and credible results, then there will be no point in moving forward," Chilean Foreign Minister Heraldo Munoz wrote on Twitter.

Mexico's Foreign Ministry said it was also "evaluating" its participation.

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Previous talks, including a 2016 round facilitated by the Vatican, failed to reach agreement.

Reuters

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