National Post (National Edition)
Mexico pushes OAS on Venezuela
CANCUN • Mexico, the United States and Canada on Monday lobbied countries from across the Americas to adopt a watered-down resolution criticizing Venezuela’s government after seeing resistance from some of the socialist oil exporter’s allies.
After failing to reach consensus in May, ministers from the 34-nation Organization of American States (OAS) were meeting for three days at a resort in Cancun and attempted to hash out a joint statement on the political and economic crisis rocking Venezuela.
Mexico and Peru have led the push with the U.S. for a resolution that defends representative democracy in Venezuela, where President Nicolas Maduro is accused of leading the OPEC member toward dictatorship by delaying elections, jailing opposition activists and pressing to overhaul the constitution.
Both Mexican and U.S. officials were negotiating with a bloc of countries from the Caribbean, many of which are grateful to Venezuela for soft oil loans.
“We want to reach a unified resolution,” Mexican Foreign Minister Luis Videgaray said at a news conference. He spoke of wanting to agree “to defend the values that unite us ... in this specific case it’s the defence of representative democracy as the only form of government that should prevail in the American continent.”
At least 72 people have been killed in two months of violence between protesters and police as Venezuelans decry shortages of food and medicine. Maduro says the protests, along with the diplomatic efforts, are part of a plot by the U.S. to topple him.
“Venezuela needs an international humanitarian channel that provides drugs and food to the Venezuelan population,” OAS SecretaryGeneral Luis Almagro said.
Almagro called for an election timetable in Venezuela, for political prisoners to be freed, for an independent judiciary and respect for the autonomy of the National Assembly legislature.
Protests raged again in Caracas on Monday, as activists threw rocks and fireworks at security forces, who responded with volleys of tear gas.
“We don’t expect much of the international community,” said protester Luis Serran, 22. “We have seen cases like Syria, lots of talking and not much action.”
While Venezuela has said it was withdrawing from the OAS in protest, Foreign Minister Delcy Rodriguez was in Cancun. “We don’t recognize this meeting nor do we recognize that resolutions that come from it,” she said.
Venezuela’s socialists have long enjoyed the support of left-leaning governments in Latin America loathe to back measures they see as meddling in a sovereign country by an organization they consider an arm of U.S. foreign policy.