Regardless of the intentions that moved Colombian President Gustavo Petro to call a meeting to discuss the Venezuelan problem on a global scale, it would be stupid not to accept the offer. It would be as if a person dying of thirst in a desert were to ask if the water offered to him is poisoned (see in Spanish Petro calls a meeting on Venezuela, in https://elpais.com/america-colombia/2023-03-28/petro-convoca-una-reunion-mundial-sobre-venezuela-en-la-que-podria-estar-maduro.html). It is clear that any Colombian president is interested in Venezuela being in the best conditions, and even better if he can derive political advantage from it, but the problem is not theirs, it is ours!
Indeed, according to news reports, Petro reached an agreement with Maduro in March and the latter agreed to the meeting. But this did not happen only because of Petro's intentions, but also with the consent of the U.S. government, which at the same time announced that it would be willing to participate in such talks: "Yes, we are willing to participate. We are concerned about the situation of the Venezuelan people, and any country that is contributing its good will and good offices to improve the situation is something important", said in an interview with EFE the person in charge for Latin America of the State Department, Brian Nichols" (see in Spanish The US said that it would participate in a conference on the crisis convened by Gustavo Petro, in https://www.costadelsolfm.org/2023/03/29/los-estados-unidos-dijo-que-si-participaria-en-una-conferencia-sobre-la-crisis-venezolana-convocada-por-gustavo-petro/).
However, the Colombian Foreign Ministry has indicated that the talks would be aimed at resuming the dialogue suspended in Mexico: ""We do not want to have a new dialogue process, but for the parties to return to Mexico", explains a Colombian diplomatic source". In our opinion, that dialogue in Mexico died, not only because Nicolás Maduro Moros kicked that table by demanding the suspension of ALL sanctions, but also because the regime was NEVER interested in solving the political crisis that he himself created.
Not to mention that the very basis of the Memorandum of Understanding signed in 2021, between the regime and a supposed opposition, are false. Neither the Maduro regime is the legitimate government of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, nor the so-called Unitary Platform is an entity that represents anyone in Venezuela, beyond the hollow representation of some parties, which have not been validated in elections with the Venezuelan people for more than 7 years, and therefore cannot be attributed such representation, and even less without a minimum authorization from the internationally recognized National Assembly of 2015.
This led a group of Venezuelans, including myself, on October 15, 2022, to file an Appeal for Protection (Recurso de Amparo) before the Legitimate Supreme Court in exile, to protect our rights to political participation violated by these supposed political representatives of Venezuelans, to demand the nullity of the Memorandum of Understanding signed in Mexico, detrimental to our interests (see in Spanish Nullity of the Memorandum of Understanding between the opposition and the government of Maduro, before the TSJ in exile, in https://ticsddhh.blogspot.com/2022/10/solicitan-nulidad-del-memorandum-de.html).
At
the same time, and in view of all these realities, Gustavo Petro maneuvers to
bring the dialogue from Mexico to Colombia, bringing to the table common
interests between our countries that fully justify a readjustment of this
dialogue (see in Spanish Petro maneuvers to bring the dialogues between the
Chavista government and the opposition from Mexico to Colombia, in https://elpais.com/america-colombia/2023-03-30/petro-maniobra-para-traerse-de-mexico-a-colombia-los-dialogos-entre-el-gobierno-chavista-y-la-oposicion.html). Sin embargo, esta
iniciativa debe necesariamente pasar por una verdadera representación opositora
ajustada a la realidad política de la Venezuela actual.
For years I have been fully convinced that the solution to the Venezuelan crisis goes through Colombia, and the crisis that Colombia is currently going through, in the same direction, but in the opposite direction, goes through Venezuela (see A Great-Colombian Solution, in https://ticsddhh.blogspot.com/2019/12/una-solucion-grancolombiana.html). Venezuela and Colombia have common problems and interests, not to mention the fact that we have the same historical roots, which is the perfect framework for such an initiative.
That confluence of common interests makes a dialogue initiative, such as the one announced by President Petro, become more and more similar to the proposal made by ANCO, published on August 8, 2021, where we expressed the need for that dialogue to be carried out on the basis of a 4-party negotiation: "a delegation of the International Community signatory of the Joint Declaration of June 25, 2021 (USA, the EU and Canada); a delegation of the sectors of the political opposition headed by Juan Guaidó Márquez as President in Charge recognized by the international community; a delegation of the Governing Council of the Citizens' Conference for Constitutional and Democratic Restoration, recently renamed REFUNDATIONAL CONGRESS, as representation of the more than 6.4 million participants of the December 2020 Popular Consultation; and a delegation of the government sector headed by Nicolás Maduro.... " (see in Spanish Communiqué of August 8, 2021, ANCO reaffirms and proposes to the Country and the International Community a route to Refound the Nation, at.https://ancoficial.blogspot.com/2021/08/anco-reafirma-y-propone-al-pais-y-la.html).
It is clear that with the disappearance of the Presidency-in-Charge, the representation of the political opposition would be different, but the relevant and necessary incorporation of a qualified representation of civil society would be necessary, and we suggested that it should be the representatives of those who spoke out through the signing of a Citizens' Pact for Constitutional Reestablishment in February 2021, demanding compliance with the mandate of the Popular Consultation of December 2020 in Venezuela (see in Spanish Citizens' Pact for Constitutional Reestablishment in https://ancoficial.blogspot.com/2021/02/comunicado-anco-acta-que-contiene-el.html).
Based on these realities, this Colombian initiative should include the representation of the Maduro regime as the de facto government of the country -and not as a constitutional government-, an official representation of the political opposition authorized by the recognized National Assembly of 2015, A QUALIFIED REPRESENTATION OF CIVIL SOCIETY, and a representation of the signatories of the Joint Declaration of June 25, 2021 (USA, EU and Canada), headed by the USA. To these 4 delegations should be added a fifth: the representation of the government of Colombia, as the largest country suffering from the Venezuelan migratory crisis and sponsor of the idea.
Seen in this light, the dialogue proposed by the President of Colombia, Gustavo Petro, cannot be for "the parties to return to Mexico" as suggested by the Colombian Foreign Ministry. If so, it is not even worth the effort of expending energies in a dead dialogue. Unlike Mexico, the Maduro regime would have to attend this dialogue even if it does not want to, because the presence of Colombia would make a difference. There are a lot of common interests at stake. With the opportunity for dialogue in Colombia, with three new additional willing actors, the U.S., Venezuelan civil society and the Colombian government, it is possible to move towards a concrete solution to the Venezuelan crisis, which is the fundamental and only thing that should matter to those who failed miserably in Mexico.
Caracas, April 7, 2023
Blog:
TIC’s & Derechos Humanos, https://ticsddhh.blogspot.com/
Email: luismanuel.aguana@gmail.com
Twitter:@laguana
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