Jailed ex-leader Maduro welcomes ‘any path to dialogue’ in Venezuela ahead of US talks
World

Jailed ex-leader Maduro welcomes ‘any path to dialogue’ in Venezuela ahead of US talks

Economy World



Venezuela’s imprisoned former leader Nicolas Maduro on Sunday welcomed “any path to dialogue”, ahead of a US-backed meeting in the coming week between representatives of the Latin American country’s interim government and opposition leaders.

“We welcome any path to dialogue that helps consolidate peace, coexistence, and reconciliation among Venezuelans,” read a message posted on the official Telegram account of the deposed president, who is imprisoned in New York following his capture in a US military operation in January.

Meanwhile, Venezuela and the Dominican Republic agreed on Sunday to work towards restoring relations severed two years ago when the latter joined an international chorus of complaints that Maduro’s claimed presidential re-election was fraudulent.

The two countries have now agreed on a road map for talks on “gradual normalisation” of their diplomatic ties, the Venezuelan foreign ministry said in a statement.

Maduro, a leftist criticised as a harsh autocrat who oversaw the collapse of oil-rich Venezuela’s economy, was toppled and arrested by US forces in early January and whisked off to New York with his wife for trial on drug trafficking charges.

The former bus driver hand-picked by Hugo Chavez to succeed him claimed victory in presidential elections in 2024 and a mandate for a third term, even though the then US-backed opposition released voting tally sheets showing its candidate Edmundo Gonzalez had scored a landslide victory.