Venezuela Rivals to Hold Next Round of Talks in Barbados

(Bloomberg) -- A third round of negotiations between Venezuela’s government and the opposition will take place in Barbados, according to an emailed statement from National Assembly head Juan Guaido’s office.

The new exploratory talks seek to end a bitter clash between Nicolas Maduro, who has been accused of stealing his last election, and Guaido, who says he is the country’s rightful leader. Prior negotiations had taken place in Oslo.

“We don’t have unlimited time, every day our situation is becoming worse,” according to the statement from Guaido, recognized by about 50 nations including the U.S. as the leader of the country. “Venezuelans, our allies and the world’s democracies recognize the need to hold truly free and transparent elections.”

While the statement didn’t mention a specific date, a person familiar with the conversations said they are scheduled to start Monday. Venezuela’s Information Ministry didn’t respond immediately to a request for comment.

Norway’s Foreign Ministry, which is acting as a mediator, issued a statement on Sunday confirming that talks will start “this week” in Barbados. The parties will now meet to continue work on finding a negotiated and constitutional solution, as “quickly as possible,” it said in the statement.

“Norway reiterates its recognition of the parties for their efforts and willingness to cooperate,” Foreign Minister Ine Eriksen Soreide said.

While Guaido’s envoys will push for new elections in the talks, there are divisions within the opposition on whether Maduro can still be in power for a vote to take place.

The European Union’s special adviser on Venezuela, Enrique Iglesias, is set to visit the country next week. A United Nations report last week called for the Venezuelan government to take “immediate, concrete measures to halt and remedy the grave violations” of economic, social and civil rights.

--With assistance from Alex Vasquez.

To contact the reporter on this story: Patricia Laya in Caracas at playa2@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Daniel Cancel at dcancel@bloomberg.net, Jonas Bergman

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