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The EU sends a mission to Venezuela to negotiate credible elections

2020-09-25T02:11:54.275Z


Two community officials will meet with the Government and the opposition to address the necessary requirements


The movement of the opposition Henrique Capriles to open up to participation in the Venezuelan elections is seen by Brussels as an opportunity to pressure the Nicolás Maduro regime to achieve better conditions for those elections.

The EU has sent a mission of two community officials to Caracas to discuss with the government and the opposition the necessary requirements for the elections to be as credible and viable as possible.

That could mean delaying them beyond the scheduled date, December 6, which would allow the organization of an observer mission with guarantees.

Brussels sees in the irruption of Capriles, in favor of participating in the elections, an opportunity to find a way out of the serious political and social crisis that Venezuela is going through.

However, it also notes with concern that the Maduro regime castles itself on the date of December 6.

Under current conditions, he believes that the elections would not be recognized as legitimate and that the resulting National Assembly would not be seen as representative either.

And that would accelerate Venezuela's break with the international community, further aggravating the country's humanitarian crisis.

The High Representative for Foreign Policy and Common Security, Josep Borrell, wants to take advantage of the opportunity for dialogue that the figure of Capriles represents.

Therefore, as

ABC

advanced this Thursday

, it sent two European officials to Caracas.

Specifically, until next Monday the political director of the European Foreign Action Service (SEAE), Enrique Mora, and the deputy director general for America, Javier Niño, will be in Venezuela, according to community sources.

Before sending the two officials, Borrell reported on the 17th to the International Contact Group and the EU Foreign Ministers, last Monday.

After the meeting, the head of community diplomacy pointed out that the Council was unanimous in supporting the decision of the Contact Group to "continue the negotiation to assess the possibility of elections that can be observed" by European missions.

Despite this, the president of the European People's Group, Manfred Weber, accused Borrell of "legitimizing the dictator Maduro with clandestine diplomatic missions", which he considered "unacceptable" after hearing the United Nations report, in which he accused the Government of Nicolás Maduro for crimes against humanity.

Brussels admits that the content of that document is very harsh, but it also points to the growing concern among the countries of the international group about the situation in Caracas.

European humanitarian aid services are reporting a rapid deterioration in citizens' living conditions: 96% of the population without access to electricity, 95% without water and an increase in child malnutrition.

Some NGOs are even reporting a drastic drop in their assistance activity due to the inability of many citizens to travel to their facilities due to lack of fuel.

Emergency in Caracas

Against this background, Brussels clings to the request made by the Venezuelan opposition to Borrell - considered the only viable interlocutor for all parties - to speak with Maduro about the terms of the elections.

In turn, Caracas sent him a letter requesting that a community mission "accompany" and "observe" the electoral process, something that had not happened for 14 years.

Borrell had to respond to Venezuela that it was impossible to organize that delegation in such a short time and that, furthermore, the necessary conditions were not in place to hold elections.

In addition, by those dates it is expected that the pandemic has only worsened, putting the appointment in more trouble.

The mission sent to Caracas will meet with all parties - it could even meet with Maduro - to try to address all these pitfalls.

Its objective is not to postpone the elections, but that would be the logical consequence of the success of its task.

The EU conditions for elections to be held include the equal participation of all political parties and their leaders, for whom an end to their persecution and disqualification is requested, as well as an international mission that can be deployed with all the guarantees.

Maduro revolts against the international community

Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro addressed the UN General Assembly on Wednesday a week after being singled out by a verification mission of the organization for crimes against humanity.

He took advantage of his intervention to blame the Donald Trump Administration and his allies on the international board for the crisis in Venezuela and called for the end of sanctions.

In his speech, he refused to acknowledge mistakes and boasted of his management of the pandemic despite the collapse of the health system.

The president turned his speech into a challenge from the international community, which has tightened the diplomatic siege against Caracas.

It revolted against the world, with the exception of the countries that support it, such as China, Russia, Cuba or Turkey.

And he resorted to his usual rhetoric about sovereignty to oppose outside interference.

Meanwhile, Juan Guaidó, recognized as interim head of state by almost 60 countries, resorted to the symbolic scope of his position to try to counter-program Maduro.

The politician requested help from the governments that support him.

He asked them to consider "a strategy that contemplates scenarios after the diplomatic channel has been exhausted."

"The time has come for timely and decisive actions," he added without clarifying the type of actions.

/ ALONSO MOLEIRO

Source: elparis

All news articles on 2020-09-25

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