Venezuela Opposition Leader Abandons Dialogue After Being 'Censured' By MUD Coalition

Timoteo Zambrano, a lead negotiator for the Venezuelan opposition in ongoing dialogue with the government, has stepped down from his post.

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Zambrano, a legislator for the opposition, made the decision to step down after he was apparently "censured" by opposition parties for "collaborating" with the administration of President Nicolas Maduro.

"I’ve been censured by some opposition delegates at the Dominican Republic negotiations ... for this reason, I’m stepping down from my post."

Zambrano said he was "censured" for wanting to come to an accord with the Maduro government. In his resignation letter, he accused the opposition coalition, led by the United Democratic Roundtable, or MUD, of trying to unconstitutionally derail the current administration.

He said that MUD strategies would deepen the divides of the Venezuelan people.

"Neither the hegemonic attempts, the undemocratic attitudes or denying reality can outlast the economic and social reality," Zambrano said. 

Zambrano urged the MUD to "stop pantomiming and speak clearly” in regard to the negotiations in the Dominican Republic because "in politics, one offers solutions to the people, not throw them into the abyss."

"Real leadership," he added, "means no cheating, no presuming and no accusing in vain to cover up other deficiencies."

The former delegate defended dialogue between the two sides and wished all parties luck in the process, adding that "without an accord, we’ll go into an abyss. An accord will begin a historic ratification that we dearly need.”

The government of the Dominican Republic hosted and mediated two rounds of peace negotiations in December between the Maduro administration and opposition parties. The next round of dialogue is set to take place between Jan. 11-12 in the Caribbean nation.