Interim President of Venezuela Calls for Dialogue with Opposition Without "External Impositions"

SadaNews - Interim President of Venezuela Delcy Rodriguez has called for dialogue with the opposition to end the political crisis in the country following the US military operation that led to the arrest of President Nicolás Maduro.

Rodriguez stated in a speech broadcast on the country's official television on Saturday that the dialogue she is calling for aims to reach understandings between the government and the opposition that serve the interests of the Venezuelan people. She emphasized that "there can be no political or partisan disagreements when it comes to peace in Venezuela."

Rodriguez had asked her brother, National Assembly President Jorge Rodriguez, to hold a meeting with representatives of various political sectors, expressing her desire for a dialogue that leads to "tangible and immediate results."

The interim president stressed the need for the dialogue to be "purely national and not controlled by external orders, whether from Washington, Bogotá, or Madrid," referring to her rejection of international interventions in internal affairs.

These calls come at a time when Venezuela is experiencing political turmoil since the elections in July 2024, where the National Electoral Council announced Maduro's victory, a claim rejected by the opposition which insists their candidate Edmundo Gonzalez Urotia won based on independently gathered ballot reports.

The protests following the elections resulted in the deaths of 28 people and the arrest of about 2400 others.

Since assuming the presidency in an acting capacity on January 5 of this year, following the US military operation that led to Maduro and his wife's arrest, Rodriguez has pledged to release political prisoners, signed oil agreements with the United States, and initiated legislative reforms including a fuel law.

However, the release of prisoners is proceeding slowly, with only about 150 released so far out of approximately 800 political prisoners, according to human rights organizations.

Recently, the White House has expressed its intention to invite Rodriguez to visit the United States, coinciding with statements from US President Donald Trump, who praised her performance, following his characterization of opposition leader Maria Corina Machado - a Nobel Peace Prize laureate - as "unqualified" to lead Venezuela.