El País op-ed | Biden and Venezuela: a New Opportunity1 min read

Image: A soldier stands guard at a PDVSA state oil company gas station where drivers wait in line for hours to fill up in Caracas, Venezuela. May 25, 2020. AP Photo/Matias Delacroix.

On Saturday, March 19, El País published an op-ed by Geoff Ramsey, WOLA Director for Venezuela, and David Smilde, WOLA Senior Fellow and Charles A. and Leo M. Favrot Professor of Human Relations at Tulane University, in which they argue that the recent visit of U.S. officials to Caracas represents an important opportunity to break with the policy of ‘maximum pressure’ and promote a democratic and negotiated transition in Venezuela.

The article emphasizes that, to be successful, this change of U.S. strategy must prioritize multilateral coordination with international actors such as the United Nations or the International Contact Group on Venezuela, and that countries concerned about democracy in Venezuela should send a coordinated and coherent message regarding the reactivation of negotiations in Mexico.

Read the full article in Spanish here (English version will be made available in the coming days)