S. Americans decide to oversee Venezuela’s political talks

South American foreign ministers have decided to dispatch a commission to Venezuela to oversee the political dialog toward peace in the country.

The decision was made during a meeting of foreign ministers from UNASUR, the Union of South American Nations, in Chile’s capital, Santiago, on Wednesday.

The ministers of the bloc stressed their support for Venezuelans in establishing a “dialogue between the government and all political forces and players.”

After the meeting in Santiago, Venezuelan Foreign Minister Elias Jaua voiced his government’s satisfaction with UNASUR’s resolution and told reporters that he “feels backed by the bloc.”

Venezuela has been rocked by a five-week-long civil unrest and street protests, during which at least 25 people have been killed and many more injured so far.

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro says the unrest in his country has its roots in conspiracies hatched by the US government, blaming US authorities for interfering in Venezuela’s internal affairs.

Earlier this week, US vice-president, Joe Biden, accused the government of President Maduro of failing to respect freedom of expression and human rights in allegations published by the Chilean newspaper, El Mercurio.

The government of Venezuela has dismissed Biden’s criticism, describing it as disrespectful to Venezuela’s sovereignty and “a direct aggression to its people, which have suffered the attacks by a fascist sector” that wants to carry out a coup.