OAS Chief Calls for Meeting to Discuss Maduro’s Rule in Venezuela
OAS Chief Calls for Meeting to Discuss Maduro’s Rule in Venezuela
The OAS' call for an emergency meeting to address Venezuela’s crisis “is a very important step forward,” comments AS/COA’s Eric Farnsworth.
CARACAS, Venezuela—The head of the Organization of American States has called for a meeting of the body’s permanent council to discuss whether Venezuela has violated democratic principles, the latest setback for the socialist government whose diplomatic power once challenged the U.S. in the region.
Luis Almagro, Uruguay’s former foreign minister, made the request Monday night for the meeting after submitting to the council a 133-page report on alleged human rights violations and the conflict of powers in Venezuela. The emergency meeting in mid-June, if approved, could eventually lead to Venezuela’s suspension from the hemisphere’s oldest and most important body....
...The OAS meeting “is a very important step forward,” said Eric Farnsworth, from the Washington-based Council of the Americas. “That the international community is talking about this, given its concerns with sovereignty, means that the situation in Venezuela has deteriorated enormously.”
A suspension by the OAS wouldn't result in any immediate penalty, but would hurt Venezuela’s standing in the international community....
