The president of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro, has announced in an interview with the multistate channel Telesur that he wants to establish a “direct, courageous and sincere” dialogue with the United States.
“Hopefully, who knows when and with whom, the possibilities of a direct, courageous, sincere and understanding dialogue with the United States Government will open. I wish it were with the Government of Joe Biden,” Maduro has expressed on the multi-state channel Telesur .
Maduro has indicated that he established dialogues with the opposition in Mexico on August 13 and they were suspended after the extradition of Colombian businessman Alex Saab, extradited to the United States, despite being accredited as a Venezuelan diplomat.
“Now Alex Saab is kidnapped in a Florida jail (*) accusing him of a thousand false elements. Alex Saab is still the representative before the Mexican table, and there would have to be big changes in the matter that has to do with the kidnapping of Alex Saab so that we could return to the dialogue in Mexico, we will see what happens in January, February, “said the president.
Regarding the talks, he has said that “they were on the right track when they were suspended,” and considered that it was a premeditated action by the United States.
In his opinion, the extradition of Saab to the United States to be tried for money laundering was a “backstabbing stab” and to “derail” the negotiations.
Likewise, Maduro recalled that the sanctions imposed prevent the free commercialization of oil, gold and other products.
“Venezuela is reaching a million barrels a day of oil production, we are planning 1,200,000 barrels for this year (…) but it is a tremendous achievement (…) with practically no money,” he added.
ECONOMY OF VENEZUELA
The president has predicted that the economic authorities will declare the end of hyperinflation “in the coming months.” Despite this situation, the economy of his country in the second half of 2021, had an economic growth of 7.5 percent.
The National Consumer Price Index (INPC) of Venezuela experienced a monthly variation of 8.4% in November, accumulating three consecutive variations below the double-digit barrier, according to data published by the Central Bank of Venezuela.
The Central Bank data represent a higher record than the one published by the Venezuelan Finance Observatory, a body linked to the Venezuelan opposition that publishes data on inflation in parallel with the official body. According to the Observatory, monthly inflation in the Latin American country registered a 6% rise in November, lower than the official 8.1%.
Data from the Central Bank explain that goods grouped in education services registered the greatest increase (22.4%), followed by household equipment (12.2%) and miscellaneous goods and services (11.3%).
In year-on-year terms, the Central Bank of Venezuela has not released new data on inflation. However, the Finance Observatory published that between November of this year and November 2020, prices increased by up to 769%.
