Venezuelan govt and opposition arrive in Mexico

Venezuela’s government and the opposition have patched up a row that was delaying the latest round of negotiations to end the country's political crisis. The talks, hosted by Mexico, were supposed to begin on Friday but were suspended after the government delegation failed to show up.

This came after Norway's outgoing prime minister Erna Solberg released a pre-recorded speech at the United Nations criticising Venezuela's leader, President Nicolas Maduro. Solberg's speech was perceived as compromising the neutrality of the Norwegian team facilitating the negotiations.

Dag Halvor Nylander, head of the Norwegian facilitating team, was quick to distance the group from Solberg's statement. He insisted the group would deal with the parties in an unbiased way, according to the guidelines, and that they "regret that the recent declaration made at the United Nations could affect our role."

Jorge Rodriguez, head of the Venezuelan government delegation, then declared that the impasse had been overcome. The government delegates and the opposition, led by Juan Guaidó, are expected to tackle issues such as conditions for elections, judicial reform and the lifting of foreign economic sanctions imposed on the government.