PSUV vice president Diosdado Cabello responded today to an article from the Associated Press (AP) published yesterday which reported that he was participating in secret talks with Washington to secure guarantees for himself in a post-Maduro scenario.
Speaking in a press conference, Cabello said that the allegations were “lies and manipulation”, but he would not deny that he spoke to U.S. officials in July as the article claims. Instead, Cabello offered this wordplay as a response:
If [the talks] were secret, then why do we know about them?
Canada To Recognize Expired Venezuelan Passports
The CBC is reporting today that the government of Canada will begin to recognize expired Venezuelan passports, given the “country’s administrative meltdown”.
According to the CBC article, Venezuelans in Canada have found themselves in precarious positions as the country’s ability to issue and renew passports has been affected by the socio-economic collapse. According to the CBC:
In Canada, some Venezuelans who came to the country on legal student visas have found themselves unable to continue their studies or graduate because they’ve been unable to update documents. Others with permanent residence have seen their progress toward citizenship interrupted because their Venezuelan documents are no longer valid.
The article claims that Ottawa will “shortly” announce the measure, which will apply to Venezuelan passports that have expired in the last five years.
The article also contains the following information on the scope of the Venezuelan crisis:
Venezuela’s exodus has swollen to the point where the Organization of American States recently warned it could top eight million by the end of 2020. That would make it the world’s biggest outflow of refugees, surpassing the 6.7 million who have fled Syria.
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