Varela to offer Maduro crisis aid

PANAMA’S President, Juan Carlos Varela, plans to call  his Venezuelan counterpart, Nicolás Maduro, to help find a solution to the country’s crisis.

He will propose being part of a commission  of several countries to try to negotiate  a solution to the crisis in that country.

Varela, indicated that the commission he proposes could be made up of five to seven countries that are endorsed by both parties, leading to dialogue between  Venezuelan the opposition and the government.

The proposal, said Varela , would be similar to the one he put forward in 2009, when he was foreign minister during the Honduras crisis. Foreign ministers from seven countries mediated the situation.

“We were able to get  dialogue and then a democratic election in a country that was almost on the verge of a civil war ,” he said.

In the case of Venezuela, he added: “We feel we have to provide  support to protect democracy and, above all, democratic elections.”

He confirmed that Panama will keep its ambassador in Caracas, since, “to be part of the solution we have to be present,” he said.

Varela, not renowned for fast action, has not indicated when he plans to make the call to Maduro, reports La Prensa