Opposition leader Juan Guaidó has told his followers on Twitter that he has crossed the border between Venezuela and Colombia "on foot" "as millions of Venezuelans have done before me." The Venezuelan politician has traveled to the neighboring country within the framework of an international summit convened by Colombian President Gustavo Petro for this Tuesday, April 25 with the aim of unblocking the talks that began in Mexico between the Maduro government and the opposition.
"I hope that the summit can guarantee that the Maduro regime returns to the negotiating table," Guaidó said in a statement.
Colombian President Gustavo Petro met on Saturday in Bogota with members of the Venezuelan opposition before the international conference on the Caribbean nation, in which representatives of 20 countries will participate. According to the Colombian government, the Petro Foreign Ministry and its foreign minister, Álvaro Leyva, held "a dialogue with the Democratic Unitary Platform of Venezuela."
Petro announced last month an "International Conference on the political process in Venezuela", to be held in Bogotá on April 25, with the aim of unblocking the talks started in Mexico between the Maduro government and the opposition to find solutions to the crisis in that country.
Regarding the summit, the adviser to the US government for Latin America, Juan González, will be part of the delegation that the White House will send to Colombia to participate in said conference. González will be accompanied by Special Presidential Advisor for the Americas, Chris Dodd, and Senior Deputy National Security Adviser, Jon Finer.
Petro said last Thursday in the United States, before his meeting with President Joe Biden, that some 20 foreign ministers will attend the April 25 meeting.
During his meeting with Biden, Petro proposed a strategy that consists of progressively lifting the sanctions against Venezuela as there is progress in electoral matters in the country.
The Biden government has shown itself open to lifting them only if concrete steps are taken for free and fair elections, the defense of human rights is strengthened and corruption is stopped.
Petro has said that "it is not a mediator" between the United States and Venezuela, but that it "simply" offered Bogotá as the venue for the Maduro government and the opposition to sit down to negotiate at an international conference.
