Venezuela government, opposition talks stalled

Dialogue between the Venezuelan government of President Nicolas Maduro and opposition leader Juan Guaido appears to have stalled, despite such talks being key to any hopes the US will lift sanctions on the country.

Jorge Rodriguez, Maduro's representative in nascent talks with the opposition, said he would not meet with the Guaido camp, arguing that Guaido has had dealings with a Colombian drug trafficker. Guaido has denied the allegations.

The impasse comes two weeks after Maduro, Guaido and Rodriguez met separately with a high-level US mission in Caracas that sought to reopen talks about moving toward ending oil sanctions.

The US outreach — in reaction to concerns that the Russian-Ukrainian conflict will create crude supply constraints because of sanctions against Russian oil — has many Venezuelan officials optimistic to a return of higher crude flows. But US demands for open elections will continue to be a road block.

"Maduro is under a lot of pressure," a top oil advisor for Guaido told Argus. "And while the US came asking about oil to replace Russian oil being banned, we are seeing how this is now less and less about oil and more and more about humanitarian and political motivations."

By Carlos Camacho