Maduro: Divisions Stopped Venzuelan Opposition from Attending Talks

The president of Venezuela, Nicolas Maduro, has said the opposition abandoned talks with the government due to “infighting.”

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The government delegation arrived in Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic on Wednesday to participate in talks with the opposition.

But members of the opposition coalition, known as the Democratic Unity Roundtable, announced Tuesday that they would not attend the meeting, saying that their pre-conditions had not been met, citing lack of progress on issues from human rights to elections, according to Reuters.

“Divisions have appeared in the opposition again, electoral, infighting, have blocked their participation in the talks on dialogue and understanding and peace,” said President Maduro in a televised speech.

“I regret that the opposition falls and falls again, as though it were an illness, in divisions and fighting,” he added.

The previous round of talks took place on Sept. 12-13, where the Venezuelan government was represented by Mayor Jorge Rodriguez, the president of the National Constituent Assembly Delcy Rodriguez, and Roy Chaderton Matos.

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The opposition was represented by Timoteo Zambrano, Luis Florido, Manuel Rosales, Vicente Diaz, Julio Borges and Eudoro Gonzalez.

At those meetings, both parties agreed to continue to dialogue. They also agreed to create a commission comprised of delegates from Venezuela, Mexico, Chile, Bolivia and Nicaragua to ensure their political agreements are carried forward.

Dominican President Danilo Medina, who is acting as mediator, and Spain’s former president Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero initiated the talks, while 12 other Latin American nations expressed their support for the Santo Domingo dialogues.

Maduro has consistently called for dialogue with the opposition, initiating talks brokered by Pope Francis and Unasur that never developed after the opposition backed out of agreed upon scheduled meetings in January.