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U.S. Negotiations With Venezuela: A Choice Between Bad and Worse

Apr 6, 2018 | 16:18 GMT

In the streets of Caracas, a girl plays near a Venezuelan flag in July 2017.

To stop the economic crisis in Venezuela and to keep violence at bay, the United States may have to bend on its political demands of the country.

(FEDERICO PARRA/AFP/Getty Images)

Highlights

Venezuela's government will try to use the U.S. citizens in its custody as leverage in talks with Washington.
If Washington chooses to seriously engage in negotiations with Caracas, it will probably try to steer the crisis in Venezuela away from a potentially violent military coup or to address the regional effects of emigration from the country.
Domestic factors, such as opposition in the White House and among voters in Florida, could prevent the talks from even starting.

An answer to the pressing question of what to do about Venezuela may be starting to take shape. U.S. Rep. Pete Sessions traveled to Venezuela for an unannounced meeting with President Nicolas Maduro on April 5. The day before, Sen. Dick Durbin quietly met with unspecified members of the Venezuelan government and opposition on a trip to the country. A former U.S. official -- a Cuba expert in President George W. Bush's administration who had previously negotiated with Venezuelan officials in the wake of an attempted coup in 2002 -- visited Venezuela to meet with Maduro in February. The same month, the governor of Carabobo state, a close confidant of Maduro, came to the United States and delivered a message to U.S. lawmakers that Venezuela was willing to discuss freeing Joshua Holt, a U.S. citizen in its custody. The reason for the series of meetings is clear: Caracas is trying...

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