Talks between allies of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and opposition leader Juan Guaido have secretly begun, in a move that suggests a new willingness to cooperate amid the coronavirus pandemic and political crisis.
The closed-door discussions were born out of dialogue between the two sides over how to manage the pandemic within its borders, Reuters reported, as well as increasing fuel shortages and crippling U.S. sanctions as the country remains politically divided.
Sources on both sides confirmed the talks — which do not have an explicit agenda — on Tuesday, but there is no clear answer as to when the discussions began.
“There are two extremes: Maduro and those who believe that the virus will end Guaido’s leadership, and those on the other side (who) hope this crisis will bring down Maduro,” an opposition legislator in favor of the rapprochement told Reuters.
“I think we have to find solutions,” they added.
Mr. Guaido has been recognized by dozens of countries as the interim president of Venezuela as the U.S. continues efforts to oust Mr. Maduro from his seat and flip the government.
The Maduro regime has resisted the pressure and continues to receive support from China and Russia, among other countries.
In a televised broadcast over the weekend, Mr. Maduro said his side is “ready for dialogue, to understand one another and reach a humanitarian agreement to attend to the coronavirus [pandemic].”
Mr. Maduro has repeatedly refused humanitarian support, despite warnings from the United Nations that the country is particularly susceptible to devastation from the highly contagious virus due to the lack of sanitary supplies and hospital space, and rattled infrastructure.
Mr. Guaido is reportedly seeking to obtain $20 million from offshore Venezuelan government accounts that his party controls to purchase supplies to combat the virus.
As of Tuesday, Venezuela has reported 285 cases of COVID-19, the respiratory disease caused by the new coronavirus, 10 deaths and 117 recoveries. Venezuela has a population of 28.8 million.
• Lauren Toms can be reached at lmeier@washingtontimes.com.
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