Al Jazeera: Eric Farnsworth on Venezuela's Congressional Election
Al Jazeera: Eric Farnsworth on Venezuela's Congressional Election
"It does take away the last public space for legitimate opposition voices to be raised in a peaceful manner," said the AS/COA vice president.
Eric Farnsworth, a vice president of AS/COA, spoke to Al Jazeera Inside Story's Imran Khan about Venezuela's recent congressional elections and the state of the country.
"It does consolidate the Maduro dictatorship…it does take away the last public space for legitimate opposition voices to be raised in a peaceful manner," Farnsworth said. "The question will be, 'How does the United States and the international community respond?'" Farnsworth added that Washington is often driven by crisis, and if a crisis were to occur in the Venezuela context, that would push the issue up the agenda.
When asked what advice he would give the White House special envoy to the Americas, Farnsworth emphasized that the humanitarian crisis has to be addressed by the international community, adding, "I also think the work that the Organization of American States has done is very important, showing that Venezuela's de facto government regime has committed crimes against humanity, against its own citizens—that process really has to be worked at the international criminal courts…My hope would be that the United States could help encourage a more rapid process."
