By Daphne Psaledakis and Simon Lewis
NEW YORK (Reuters) -U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken called on Thursday for Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro to engage in dialogue with the opposition following Venezuela’s contested election, adding that the U.S. was ready to support such a process.
The U.S. and Argentina co-chaired a meeting of 31 countries on Venezuela on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, although key regional countries did not attend or sign on to a joint statement backing Blinken’s call for dialogue.
“We come here united in the commitment to defend the human rights of the Venezuelan people and committed to bring about an inclusive Venezuelan-led effort to restore the nation’s democratic future,” Blinken said.
“That means insisting that Maduro engage in a direct dialogue with Venezuela’s united democratic opposition that leads to a peaceful return to democracy. The United States and its partners stand fully ready to support this process.”
Electoral officials and the country’s top court declared Maduro the winner of the July 28 election with 52% of the vote. But the opposition says voting tallies show a landslide victory for their candidate, Edmundo Gonzalez, who has requested asylum in Spain.
Some Western governments, including the United States, have alleged electoral fraud.
The Venezuelan government said later on Thursday that a statement signed by the countries at the meeting was “ridiculous” and accused the United States and its “satellite governments” of attacking the Venezuelan people.
A U.N. report last week alleged escalating government repression since the election, including the arrest of minors. The government rejects the accusation.
Washington has looked to Brazil, Colombia and Mexico, whose current presidents have traditionally been friendlier with Maduro, to lead diplomatic efforts since the election, but none of those countries were represented at Thursday’s meeting.
Brazil was invited but declined to attend, according to two Brazilian officials. Brazil wants to retain a diplomatic relationship with Maduro’s government, which is in a feud with the meeting’s co-chair Argentina, the officials said by way of explanation.
Argentina and Venezuela have been locked in a diplomatic spat since the seizure of a Venezuelan airplane in Buenos Aires in June 2022. This week both countries launched attempts to order the arrest of the other’s leader.
Argentina’s Foreign Minister Diana Mondino said the election in Venezuela had consequences for many countries.
“There are winds, authoritarian winds, blowing in our continent, and let’s hope it does not become a hurricane,” she said.
(Reporting by Daphne Psaledakis and Simon Lewis; Additional reporting by Lisandra Paraguassu, Doina Chiacu and Matt Spetalnick; Editing by Alistair Bell, Howard Goller and Jonathan Oatis)
