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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
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| Ex-world leaders meet with Venezuelan officials and opposition to end standoff | Ex-world leaders meet with Venezuelan officials and opposition to end standoff |
| (2 days later) | |
| A group of former leaders has held secret meetings in the Dominican Republic with Venezuelan officials and government opponents in an attempt to mediate the political standoff in the deeply polarised South American nation, an opposition leader said on Saturday. | |
| Related: Food shortages take toll on Venezuelans' diet | Related: Food shortages take toll on Venezuelans' diet |
| Jesús Torrealba, executive secretary of the opposition alliance, said the meetings took place under the auspices of the Union of South American Nations. But he said there was no face-to-face encounter – instead the two sides exchanged messages through the former leaders. | |
| Telesur reported that the Venezuelan government was represented in the Friday meetings by the foreign minister, Delcy Rodriguez, and two top officials in the ruling socialist party. Three lawmakers were there for the opposition. | |
| Venezuela’s opposition is pushing for a referendum on whether to recall President Nicolás Maduro, the successor to Hugo Chávez, amid a severe economic crisis marked by triple-digit inflation and shortages of basic goods. | Venezuela’s opposition is pushing for a referendum on whether to recall President Nicolás Maduro, the successor to Hugo Chávez, amid a severe economic crisis marked by triple-digit inflation and shortages of basic goods. |
| The meetings came a week after the former prime minister of Spain José Luis Rodriguez Zapatero and Leonel Fernandez, former president of the Dominican Republic, announced they would seek to initiate a “national dialogue” in Venezuela. | |
| Panamanian former president Martín Torrijos was also part of the international commission. | Panamanian former president Martín Torrijos was also part of the international commission. |
| Related: Why did South America’s progressive dream die so suddenly? | Uki Goñi | Related: Why did South America’s progressive dream die so suddenly? | Uki Goñi |
| Following criticism that the encounters were held in secret, Torrealba said via Twitter that opposition representatives stressed several “indispensable” demands for any dialogue. | Following criticism that the encounters were held in secret, Torrealba said via Twitter that opposition representatives stressed several “indispensable” demands for any dialogue. |
| The demands included allowing the recall referendum to proceed, the release of people the opposition considers political prisoners, solving the economic crisis and for the government to “respect” the constitution and the opposition-controlled congress. | The demands included allowing the recall referendum to proceed, the release of people the opposition considers political prisoners, solving the economic crisis and for the government to “respect” the constitution and the opposition-controlled congress. |
| He added that the opposition would provide details on the content of the Dominican meetings when its representatives returned to Venezuela. | He added that the opposition would provide details on the content of the Dominican meetings when its representatives returned to Venezuela. |
| • This article was amended on 30 May 2016. An earlier version described José Luis Rodriguez Zapatero as a former president of Spain; he is a former prime minister. |