Chaos as All Sides of Venezuelan Conflict Turn Their Ire Towards the Vatican

Venezuela’s anti-socialist opposition has skipped a third meeting with the government mediated by the Vatican as the Socialist Party’s second-in-command chides Pope Francis for being “disrespectful,” in a sign that the Vatican’s role in attempting to bring an end to Venezuela’s woes has changed little. The head of the Democratic Unity Roundtable (MUD), a coalition of opposition parties that united against socialist dictator Nicolás Maduro, announced that his negotiators would not attend another meeting with the government if the talks did not yield tangible changes for the opposition, such as the release of political prisoners or Maduro’s acceptance of the National Assembly as legitimately elected. More…