‘We cannot abandon Venezuela’: OAS to meet again to approve resolution demanding transparency

The United States on Thursday asked the international community to maintain pressure on the Nicolás Maduro regime so that recognize the result of the elections and not abandon Venezuela in its critical hour.

“I think it is up to us, and when I say us I mean the international community, the members of the OAS, to continue paying attention, to continue putting pressure, to continue finding ways to ensure that what the Venezuelan people did on election day is respected and that we move toward a transition. What we cannot do is get tired and move on to other things. We cannot and will not abandon the Venezuelan people in this. That is what Nicolás Maduro wants,” said Frank Mora, the United States ambassador to the OAS, during a discussion organized by the Atlantic Council think tank to discuss the situation in the neighboring country.

Mora also applauded the stance that countries such as Chile and its president Gabriel Boric have been taking.whom he called an example for denouncing the fraud that was apparently committed in the neighboring country.

According to the official, the international community must be vigilant against the regime’s efforts to divide and create fractures in external opinion.

“We cannot fall into that trap,” he said, after calling on other countries and international organizations to join a joint and coordinated effort that would lead to a peaceful transition of power.

Despite this, Mora was emphatic that while the support of the international community is key, it is the Venezuelans internally who must continue fighting for their democracy.

“I think that this has to be defined by the Venezuelan people, the internal processes that are carried out. Any transition process requires an international, external, exogenous component, and that is what we are doing. But in the end, those are usually secondary variables. The variable that really counts, the actors that really count, are the internal actors. Those are the ones that really count in a transition process, with the support of the entire international community,” said the official.

Detaining opposition leaders would be a mistake, says US

Mora also expressed concern about the regime’s violent repression against opposition members and the civilian population. But in particular because of the possibility that Maduro ends up arresting Edmundo González and María Corina Machado and other opposition leaders.

According to the ambassador, that would be a huge mistake by Maduro because it would provoke a “reaction” not only from the US but even among countries that have not been so forceful in asking for the popular will to be respected.

By the way, Mora asked to give oxygen and room to maneuver to the negotiation process that is apparently being carried out by a group of countries, including Colombia and Brazil, but always with the idea of ​​not falling into the game of delay that Maduro usually resorts to in order to hold on to power..

The official also said that next week the OAS will convene another extraordinary session of the Permanent Council to discuss the situation in the country and probably approve a new resolution.

As we recall, last week, during a similar session, member countries were unable to agree on a text that would obtain majority support.

According to Mora, many countries arrived at that session with doubts and without clear instructions from their governments. But he expressed confidence that during the new meeting they will be able to approve a resolution and this time, perhaps, by consensus..

The ambassador said that he would not only ask for transparency in the election results but also an end to repression and respect for the political and human rights of the opposition.

SERGIO GOMEZ MASERI

Correspondent for EL TIEMPO

Washington