Venezuela's Maduro open to talks with the US

Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro plans to talk with US envoys on Wednesday to discuss allowing the South American country to increase oil exports in exchange for free and fair elections, he said late on Monday.

But Maduro's call for dialogue comes less than a month before the 28 July election in which polls show him up to 40 percentage points behind his main challenger. It is also after the US rescinded a six-month reprieve on sanctions in April, accusing Venezuela of violating a commitment to hold a fair vote.

Maduro said that the US had sought dialogue with him "for two months in a row", and, "after thinking about it, I have accepted".

The head of the pro-Maduro assembly elected in 2020, Jorge Rodriguez, will represent him in the talks, Maduro said.

The US State Department declined to directly confirm Maduro's statement but said that the US welcomed "dialogue in good faith, and we support the Venezuelan people's desire for competitive and inclusive elections on July 28."

The US ties sanctions relief to Maduro's observing the 2023 Barbados agreement with the Venezuelan opposition, which promised to hold a competitive presidential election.

The US in April reimposed sanctions against Venezuela because the Maduro government did not allow the main opposition contender, Maria Corina Machado, to run for president. Former Venezuelan diplomat Edmundo Gonzalez is the sole presidential candidate representing the opposition Unitary Platform.

"We are clear-eyed that democratic change will not be easy, and certainly requires a serious commitment," the US State Department said. "This is something that we will continue to focus on when we will engage in dialogue with with a broad range of Venezuelan actors."

Venezuela in recent weeks has barred an additional 10 city mayors from running for office for 15 years after they expressed support for Gonzalez, according to the CNE electoral authority and the comptroller general's office.

During the first six months of 2024 Maduro has arrested 39 people connected to Gonzalez's campaign, the last one as recently as 30 June, a campaign source told Argus, using figures from Venezuelan non-governmental organizations. Police over the weekend also detained Machado for several hours while leaving a rally for Gonzalez.

Venezuela's oil output increased by around 4pc in May to 911,700 b/d from 878,000 b/d in April as drilling campaigns showed results after three months of flat production, according to the oil ministry. But US sanctions are expected to keep a cap on much additional growth.

By Carlos Camacho