|
Millions
of Venezuelans — fed
up with out-of-control
inflation, severe food
and fuel shortages, a
lack of medical care,
and periodic blackouts
— have fled the
country.
/ A.M. Costa
Rica wire service
photo.
|
Costa Rica will host the third
meeting of
the International Contact
Group for Venezuela
|
By
the A.M. Costa Rica
staff
and wire services
Costa Rica will be the host
country of the third meeting
of the "International Contact
Group" for Venezuela,
consisting of 13 countries of
the European Union and Latin
America, to be held next week,
Monday May 6 and Tuesday May
7.
"For the government, the
meeting in San José represents
a recognition of leadership
and the diplomatic efforts
made in the search for a
political solution to the
crisis in Venezuela," said the
Minister of Foreign Affairs,
Manuel E. Ventura Robles.
The International Contact
Group, GIC, is made up of
countries of the European
Union, France, Germany, Italy,
the Netherlands, Portugal,
Spain, Sweden, and the United
Kingdom as well as from those
from Latin America, Costa
Rica, Uruguay, Ecuador, and
Bolivia.
On Monday, May 6 the meeting
will be opened by the Ministry of
Foreign Affairs* and
worship, where President
Carlos Alvarado and the
Representative of the European
Union Federica Mogherini will
give their speeches.
In the second session, on
Tuesday 7, the meeting will be
held at the Inter-American
Institute for Cooperation on
Agriculture*, the IICA.
According to the Ministry of
Foreign Affairs, the
International Contact Group is
the only mechanism that has
access to all relevant parties
in Venezuela.
While this meeting is
preparing to start next week,
the Voice of America, VOA (voanews.com), has
reported that the U.S.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo
plans to meet next week with
his Russian counterpart as a
dispute between Washington and
Moscow intensifies over
Venezuela.
A senior State Department
official says Pompeo and
Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov
will summarize an as yet
unproductive discussion on
Venezuela when they are both
in Finland for an Arctic
Council meeting.
The two men traded warnings
over the situation in
Venezuela in a telephone call
Wednesday, and the official
says they're expected to pick
up that conversation when they
meet.
The official was not
authorized to discuss the
matter publicly and spoke to
reporters on condition of
anonymity.
The Trump administration
accuses Moscow of propping up
embattled Venezuelan leader
Nicolas Maduro over opposition
figure Juan Guaido, whom
Washington regards as the
country's legitimate leader.
Juan Guaido, Venezuela's
self-proclaimed president,
says a staggered industrial
action would start Thursday,
leading to a general strike.
The strike is the latest
strategy in his effort to
force President Nicolas
Maduro out of power through
a popular uprising. Two days
of rallies in the streets of
Caracas have led to violent
clashes between Guaido's
supporters and Venezuelan
forces, but the military's
top officers have yet to
heed Guaido's call to defect
from Maduro.
Millions of Venezuelans —
fed up with out-of-control
inflation, severe food and
fuel shortages, a lack of
medical care, and periodic
blackouts — have fled the
country.
As head of the
opposition-controlled
National Assembly, Guaido
used the constitution to
declare Nicolas Maduro's
presidency illegitimate,
saying his election in
December was a fraud. He has
been recognized by the
United States and more than
50 other nations as
Venezuela’s rightful
president.
-------------
Should
the United
States intervene
in Venezuela or
let the crisis
be resolved by
the Venezuelans
themselves? We
would like to know your thoughts
on this story. Send your comments
to: news@amcostarica.com
*Link to reach the place map.
|
|
|
