As violence rages, Venezuela opposition makes desperate plea to military for dialogue

Venezuela’s opposition Sunday urged the armed forces to consider dialogue, despite its loyalty to embattled President Nicolas Maduro in the country’s deadly political crisis. “I am appealing to Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino Lopez to open the doors of a sincere debate in the armed forces,” said Julio Borges, the speaker of the National Assembly, the only opposition-led government body. Opposition leaders believe Maduro and some of his supporters met this week with Padrino Lopez to rally support for his plan to convene a constituent assembly to rewrite the constitution. “If (key supporters and) Maduro have the right to give a partisan argument to the military on the chaos Venezuela is going through, we ought to have that right as well,” Borges argued. More…