Venezuela Rejects Colombian Interference in Mexican Dialogue

On Saturday, Venezuela’s Vice President Delcy Rodriguez rejected the attempt by Colombian Vice President and Foreign Affairs Minister Marta Lucia Ramirez to interfere in the process of dialogue in Mexico between the representatives of the government of President Nicolas Maduro and the opposition.

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"Venezuela repudiates the statements of the Vice President of war and violence, Marta Lucia Ramirez, who interferes in the internal affairs of our country," Rodriguez tweeted, adding that the Colombian official is "violating international law and displaying profound ignorance of her office of chancellor. "

Previously, the Colombian vice president said that the Government-Opposition talks would not generate any profound change in Venezuela. Besides qualifying the dialogue process as "erratic," Ramirez said that the talks should have as their "only" aim the assurance of free and transparent presidential elections.

In response to these statements, the Venezuelan vice president reminded Ramirez that she cannot pretend to teach dialogue lessons to anyone since President Ivan Duque’s administration overturned the peace accords reached in Colombia in 2016.

From Sept. 3 to 6, representatives of Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro and the opposition are taking part in a second round of talks, which has the facilitation of Norway and the accompaniment of Russia and the Netherlands.

"We come here so that all the people may benefit from this dialogue agreement. That is why we bring negotiation points that directly affect the lives of Venezuelans, the economy, social affairs, and the pandemic. I believe that this work will pay off," Jorge Rodriguez, the head of the Venezuelan government delegation, said upon his arrival in Mexico City.

The first round of negotiations began on Aug. 13 and culminated in the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding, which covers issues such as electoral guarantees and schedule, lifting of the U.S. sanctions, respect for the rule of law, political and social coexistence, and guarantees of implementation and monitoring of accords.