Venezuelan Mediation?

This week, Pope Francis reportedly turned down a mediation request from embattled Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, indicating conditions aren't ripe for the Vatican to step in and help mediate in the country's dramatic political crisis. Italian newspapers said the socialist leader had written to Francis to ask the Pontiff's help in launching talks with the opposition leader and purported president, Juan Guaidó, whom many including the United States have recognized as legitimate interim president. Guaidó invoked a constitutional provision to assume the presidency three weeks ago, arguing that Maduro’s re-election was a sham. The Argentine-born Pope lamented in reply to Maduro that Venezuelan Bishops were frustrated in their efforts to help defuse political and social tensions in the country, where much of the population lacks adequate food and medicine in a brewing humanitarian crisis. His letter to Maduro indicated Francis felt an inadequate government response to the willingness by church officials to facilitate dialogue in Venezuela. The Pope said all intentions aimed at reconciliation were effectively thwarted since, despite various meetings, there was no follow-up with concrete gestures to implement agreed-upon measures. While Pope Francis favors dialogue, he says only when it places the common good over all other interests and when it is aimed at achieving unity and peace. Despite diplomatic language in the letter, Pope Francis maintains,"'Yes, I can be a mediator, but at my conditions.'" See full news report here-- https://bit.ly/2TLvuuA