Guaido says conditions exist to pull Venezuela out of crisis

Caracas —  The speaker of Venezuela’s National Assembly, Juan Guaido, recognized by some 50 countries as the nation’s interim president, said this Tuesday that the conditions exist to pull Venezuela out of its ongoing national crisis, after his meeting with European Union (EU) mediator Enrique Iglesias.

“We now have the conditions to leave the crisis behind...of course there has been progress, we have created the opportunities,” the opposition leader told reporters after his private meeting with Iglesias, sent by the EU to achieve some peace and harmony in the Caribbean country.

About the talks with the Nicolas Maduro government that were renewed this week in Barbados with the support of the Norwegian government, Guaido asked one and all “not to commit the mistake of seeing a single mechanism as the solution,” and for that reason insisted on maintaining both internal and foreign pressure on the party in power.

He said the opposition’s agenda “in any kind of mediation, as in the case of the International Contact Group,” is based on ending the usurped presidency, installing a transition government and calling the Venezuelan people to “free” elections with international observers.

“I don’t trust a single mechanism,” the opposition leader said, asking citizens to “continue to mobilize” protests in the streets.

Taking part in Guaido’s meeting with Iglesias were lawmakers Angel Medina, Guillermo Luces, Manuel Texeira, Arnoldo Benitez, Gustavo Pratt and Carlos Prosperi.

Iglesias arrived at the legislature close to 9:00 am and left about half an hour later, without taking questions from the press.

In a statement to the media, opposition lawmaker Carlos Valero offered apologies to the United Nations high commissioner for human rights, Michelle Bachelet, for the “insults” aimed at her by the executive branch.

President Nicolas Maduro and the second most-powerful official in the government, Diosdado Cabello, claimed this Monday that a UN report was composed by the US special envoy to Venezuela, Elliot Abrams.

Valero said that those insults “do not represent the feelings of the Venezuelan people,” and added that the UN report includes what the Venezuelan government has “repeated for more than 10 years,” like the “massive persecution of dissidents.” EFE-EPA njm/cd