US Lawmakers Vow To Protect Venezuelan Refugees In United States - Opposition Envoy

WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 17th July, 2019) Venezuelan opposition envoy to the United States Carlos Vecchio meet with US Senators Marco Rubio and Bob Menendez and assessed mechanisms to guarantee the protection of Venezuelans seeking refuge in the United States, according to a statement from the Venezuelan Embassy in Washington.

"The US Senate is committed to finding a bipartisan solution to the crisis in Venezuela," Vecchio said in the statement on Tuesday. "We discussed with Senators Marco Rubio and Bob Menendez the mechanisms for guaranteeing legal residency for Venezuelans in the United States so that no one is deported."

Vecchio explained it is important that Venezuelan citizens in the United States do not have to worry about their immigration status while they wait for the political crisis in Venezuela to end.

The crisis in Venezuela intensified in January after the US-backed opposition leader, Juan Guaido, proclaimed himself to be the country's interim president. The United States recognized Guaido, imposed sanctions on Venezuela and froze its assets.

Venezuela's incumbent President Nicolas Maduro has called Guaido a US puppet and accused Washington of orchestrating a coup to effect a change of government and claim Venezuelan natural resources.

Since May, the Maduro government and the opposition have been engaged in talks mediated by the Norwegian government.

On July 12, Hector Rodriguez, the governor of the state of Miranda, said that the Venezuelan government and opposition had agreed to engage in a permanent peace dialogue as a result of three-day talks that took place in Barbados in the first week of July.