Countries attending the Organization of American States summit in Cancun on Monday failed to reach an agreement on asking Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro to scrap his plans to rewrite the country’s constitution.
The proposal, drawn up by a coalition of countries, called on Caracas to reconsider the introduction of a Constitutional National Assembly and end the violence that has so far claimed the lives of at least 90 people and left thousands injured. However, the resolution failed to receive the 23 votes required to pass.
Countries including Bolivia, Nicaragua, and Dominica voted against the measure, while Ecuador, El Salvador, and a group of Caribbean nations abstained, a decision which many attribute to their strong trading links with Venezuela. Smaller Caribbean nations like Trinidad and Tobago and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines – which voted against the declaration – receive much of their oil supply from Venezuela.
Venezuela is marked as “absent” because its foreign minister Delcy Rodriguez stormed out of the meeting, claiming that a number of countries did not recognize the legitimacy of the summit and were considering leaving it all together.
“Not only do we not recognize this meeting, we do not recognize any resolution coming out of it,” she said.
Another idea, proposed by Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and more sympathetic to the Venezuelan government, was also rejected, receiving just eight votes in favor.
Venezuelan opposition leader Henrique Capriles Radonski said he had not been disheartened by the defeat. “There is a clear majority of countries across the continent who are committed to tackling the grave crisis currently taking place in Venezuela,” he told El Tiempo.
The head of the U.S. delegation, Michael J. Fitzpatrick, described the vote as “very sad,” before declaring his support for the Mexican foreign minister Luis Videgaray call to keep options open.
“While we have failed to reach an agreement, in the streets of Caracas and throughout Venezuela, the violence and repression continues,” Videgaray said.
In May, eight Latin American countries signed a letter condemning an “excessive use of force by Venezuelan authorities against civilians who are protesting government measures that affect democratic stability and cause the loss of human life.” The country has held daily protests against the government since March.
On Monday, another teenager was shot and killed by police during an anti-government protest in Caracas, while six others sustained injuries. An estimated 90 protesters have been killed since daily protests began in late March, as police use water cannons, rubber bullets, and smoke bombs to contain protesters.
An audio recording obtained by the Miami Herald also revealed a military general suggesting that police should start using sniper rifles to contain the protests.
Last week, Brazil suspended exports of tear gas to Venezuela amid increasing police violence. Sources close to the decision told Reuters that “the (Brazilian) government decided to accept the opposition’s request because there’s a massacre in Venezuela,” while another government official said that the exporting of any other crowd control equipment would also be suspended.
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