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Venezuela faces mounting international pressure over crisis

Published:Friday | June 24, 2016 | 12:00 AM
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People wait in a line outside the Venezuelan Electoral Council headquarters set up as a validation center to certify the authenticity of petitioners' signatures, in Caracas, Venezuela, Thursday, June 23, 2016. The opposition is pushing for a recall referendum this year to cut short President Nicolas Maduro's term and trigger new elections. They say the national electoral council and courts are stacked in the government's favor and are trying to delay or kill the recall move. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)
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Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro.
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The head of the Organisation of American States added his voice last Thursday to the chorus of international leaders stepping up pressure on Venezuela to address a humanitarian crisis and end a crackdown on opposition activists.

Secretary General Luis Almagro urged governments in the 34-nation OAS regional bloc to "stay on the right side of history and defend people who are voiceless".

Almagro called Thursday's special session to denounce what he considers serious impingements on the democratic order in Venezuela.

Venezuelan Foreign Minister Delcy Rodriguez denounced the emergency meeting as a coup. She said Almagro was trying to overthrow the administration of President Nicolas Maduro, and are exaggerating the situation in Venezuela.

"There is no humanitarian crisis," she said.

The meeting comes amid a worsening social and political crisis in Venezuela. A majority of Venezuelans now tell pollsters that they do not have enough money to buy groceries, and the country has been wracked by weeks of food riots and lootings. Hospitals do not have enough medicine, and crucial medical equipment like incubators and radiation machines are in increasingly short supply.

Campaign against Maduro

Meanwhile, the opposition is trying to launch a campaign to recall Maduro, but the process has been marred by delays and official roadblocks.

A majority of OAS countries agreed Thursday express support for dialogue in Venezuela, but there were few concrete proposals.

Pressure is mounting on Venezuela to make concessions. Top US diplomat Thomas Shannon travelled to Caracas to meet with Maduro on Wednesday. Former Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero earlier this month attempted to mediate between the government and its opposition.

But Maduro is doubling down on his existing approach to the opposition, and denouncing any country he believes is meddling in his country's affairs. The government brought charges against two more opposition activists this week, and officials have said the presidential recall referendum will not be held this year.

US lawmakers expressed support last Wednesday for a mission to provide food and medicine to Venezuela. But the Maduro administration has said this kind of aid is not needed.

Democratic Charter

When he called the meeting, Almagro invoked the OAS' Democratic Charter, a tool former President Hugo Chavez supported when it was approved 15 years ago, to give the body a way to punish governments that became too autocratic. It was used to temporarily suspend Honduras after a 2009 military coup.

Meanwhile, Aeromexico became the latest airline to suspend flights to Venezuela. Mexico's largest airline says it has indefinitely suspended flights to capital Caracas due to the complicated economic situation in the South American nation.

Last month, Latin America's largest airline, Chile-based LATAM, and Germany's Lufthansa announced that they were suspending flights to Venezuela due to the economic situation.

Airlines have complained that Venezuela's currency controls make it difficult to convert ticket sales revenue to dollars to cover their costs. Venezuela's economy shrank 5.7 per cent last year, and shortages of many goods, including food, have become widespread.

- AP