The dialogue between the Government and the Venezuelan opposition is the first victim of the extradition to the United States of Colombian businessman Álex Saab, alleged front man of President Nicolás Maduro, after the ruling party interrupted his participation in those conversations as a form of protest.
The Colombian businessman, who was recently included as a member of the government delegation at the negotiating table, was extradited today after more than a year in detention in Cape Verde and after being requested by the US for a money laundering case.
Caracas, which rejects these accusations against Saab, then announced that the government delegation will not attend the fourth round of negotiations scheduled for Sunday, October 17, after attending three meetings previously since the meetings began on August 13.
FINAL SUSPENSION?
However, the head of the official delegation for dialogue, Jorge Rodríguez, who spoke of "suspension", did not make it clear if the political dialogue came to an end or could be resumed in the future.
"Our delegation announces that it suspends its participation in the negotiation and dialogue table; Consequently, we will not attend the round that was to begin tomorrow (…) in Mexico City as a profound expression of our protest against the brutal aggression against the person and the inauguration of our delegate Álex Saab", said the also president of the Parliament.
Rodríguez, who boasted of "big success" of the ruling party in the dialogue at the end of the third round held three weeks ago, had previously indicated to the Colombian president, Iván Duque, and to a part of the opposition that they wanted to boycott the negotiations and end a peace option for Venezuela.
In addition, he assured that the extradition of Saab, accused by the United States of profiting with "hundreds of millions of dollars"It is a new aggression against the country, and he demanded that the US Justice be released, without specifying whether this would resume the dialogue.
"This illegal and inhumane action, harmful to international law, constitutes a new act of aggression by the United States against the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, given that Álex Saab has been incorporated by our country as a full member of the dialogue and negotiation process that is being carried out. out in Mexico", Held.
THE GOVERNMENT AND THE POINTING FINGER
The Government, in addition to taking the drastic decision to suspend the dialogue, threw balls out and pointed out, as the main culprits of the process "unfair" against Saab, the US and Cape Verde, countries that, "in complicity", they kept him prisoner for 491 days "no arrest warrant or due process"added.
According to the Executive, Cape Verde committed a "serious violation of human rights" of the Colombian, who, he recalled, is "invested as a diplomat and representative of our country to the world".
The aforementioned investiture took place, by order of Maduro, when Saab had already been detained in Cape Verde for six months, with the objective, according to international experts, of evading justice under the excuse of diplomatic immunity that protects those who, officially, They engage in foreign policy on behalf of their home countries.
Although Saab is not Venezuelan by birth, Maduro repeatedly assured that he has dual nationality and that, therefore, he has all the credentials to represent the Caribbean country.
THE OPPOSITION CELEBRATES
On the opposite side, the opposition, which had repeatedly requested the businessman’s extradition, celebrated that it was made effective, something that, it said, would happen. "sooner or later".
Opposition leader Juan Guaidó applauded Cape Verde’s justice system and rejected the government’s response to Saab’s extradition by interrupting the dialogue.
Guaidó called the Government’s decision irresponsible and accused it of evading the "urgent attention to the country".
Likewise, Guaidó’s representative in the US, Carlos Vecchio, and former deputies Julio Borges and Delsa Solórzano, also celebrated Saab’s extradition and agreed that "justice always comes".
"There are no untouchables. Sooner or later all those who have looted Venezuela and committed crimes against humanity will fall. Justice always comes. After a long and complex process, Álex Saab, Maduro’s biggest mobster, Cilia Flores and his entourage is extradited to the US"said opponent Carlos Vecchio on his Twitter account.
For his part, Borges indicated that "the extradition of Álex Saab to the US is a fundamental step that leads to justice and the truth in the face of looting, corruption and the organized crime network that today supports and feeds the Maduro regime".
Likewise, Solórzano, who applauded Cape Verde’s decision, stressed that the "justice always comes".
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