CRACKS showed in the US-led front against Venezuela at the weekend as Caracas sought to win over Mexico and Panama.

The Venezuelan Foreign Ministry said on Saturday that President Nicolas Maduro had spoken to his Mexican and Panamanian counterparts Enrique Pena Nieto and Juan Carlos Varela, who offered solidarity and support.

A statement last week by 14 Organisation of American States (OAS) members, including the US and Panama, had echoed the demands of Venezuela’s Democratic Unity Roundtable (Mud) opposition in calling for early presidential elections and the release of “political prisoners” — chiefly far-right Popular Will (VP) leader Leopoldo Lopez.