The summit in Colombia on Venezuelan crisis had no significant progress

The international conference on Venezuela that was organized in Colombia by President Gustavo Petro did not meet expectations. Despite diplomats from around 20 countries participating in the meeting in Bogotá, there was no significant progress made on the issues discussed.

Petro has put forward a plan for Venezuela that aims to address the ongoing political crisis in the country. The two-track plan proposes a schedule for free and fair elections, under the supervision of the Inter-American Human Rights System, while also gradually easing sanctions. Petro has discussed this proposal with the US President Joe Biden,

At the end of the summit, Colombian Foreign Minister Álvaro Leyva read a short statement reiterating the need to create a roadmap for holding free and fair elections in Venezuela as well as the lifting of sanctions if there’s progress in negotiations over Venezuela’s political future. It also calls for a follow meeting, which could set base to  establish another a follow-up group to these negotiations, as they have already occurred and disappeared.

The United States had eased some sanctions on Venezuela’s national oil company after the Maduro administration and opposition agreed on humanitarian aid. Biden administration is now moving away from the failed policy of the Trump administration, according to Juan Gonzalez, the National Security Council’s senior director for Western Hemisphere affairs. U.S. is open to easing more sanctions if concrete steps are taken toward free and fair elections in the Venezuela talks. Meanwhile, President Petro is pushing for Venezuela to rejoin the Interamerican Human Rights system and establish an electoral calendar with clear guarantees for opposition groups, which he believes would be a significant accomplishment in the negotiations.

However, the request of the head of the delegation of the Venezuelan regime in these negotiations, Jorge Rodrigues, that the charges before the International Court of Justice and other United States courts of several of their leaders be withdrawn, as well as the reiteration of freedom to Alex Saab, shows how unwilling they are in these negotiations

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