US, Venezuelan officials meet in Haiti, continue quiet diplomacy - Yahoo News
CARACAS (Reuters) - A U. S. envoy has met Venezuela's second most powerful official in Haiti in a further sign of rapprochement between the ideological foes, according to Venezuelan state media. Thomas Shannon, counselor to Secretary of State John Kerry, has emerged in recent months as a go-between for Caracas and Washington, visiting Venezuela a couple of times for low-profile meetings with President Nicolas Maduro. In turn, the United States declared Venezuela a national security threat and ordered sanctions against seven officials it accused of corruption and rights abuses. In the meeting on Saturday in Haiti, Shannon met National Assembly President Diosdado Cabello, widely regarded as the No. 2 in Venezuela after Maduro, and Foreign Minister Delcy Rodriguez. State-funded network Telesur quoted Cabello as saying that Venezuela and the United States both planned to cooperate with Haiti in fighting cholera. Venezuela wants better relations with the United States but unnamed "interests" are blocking that, he added. Source: news.yahoo.com
