Latin America has once again turned a blind eye to the assault on democratic freedoms in one of the countries in the region. The member countries of the Organization of American States (OAS) failed yesterday to agree on a resolution that requested something as basic as the regime of Nicolás Maduro allowing an independent investigation of Sunday's elections conducted by impartial international observers.
Out of the 33 countries that are part of the OAS, the main regional organization, five - including Mexico - were not present at the urgent meeting of the OAS Permanent Council to discuss the situation in Venezuela. Of the others, 28, 11 abstained in the resolution vote. Among them was the major regional power, Brazil, as well as Colombia, Bolivia, and several countries in the Caribbean and Central America.
The lack of consensus was due, as explained by Ronald Sanders, representative of Antigua and Barbuda, to the phrase that stated that "as requested by relevant Venezuelan actors, a comprehensive verification of the results should be carried out in the presence of independent observation organizations to ensure the transparency, credibility, and legitimacy of the electoral results." Sanders made every effort to achieve consensus, as evidenced by the meeting starting more than two hours late from the scheduled time, a result of negotiations stretched until the last minute and even beyond.
All was in vain. That terrible phrase paralyzed those eleven countries. So, the strong attacks on the regime launched by several countries, such as the U.S., which yesterday stated that its patience with Venezuela is "running out," seem to be merely for show, as the Biden administration has shown absolute indifference over the past three and a half years regarding the crisis in the country. The outcome is that the OAS, which sends observers to elections in the region's countries, is unable to reach a consensus on having independent experts overseeing what clearly appears to be a massive electoral fraud.
Latin American political incapacity to promote a democratic agenda in its own region was once again evident, in case there were any doubts. This did not prevent the OAS Secretary General, Uruguayan Luis Almagro, from calling for the indictment of Nicolás Maduro by the International Criminal Court in The Hague. This court has been investigating the Venezuelan regime for over three years for its human rights violations.
"Considering the state of the Court's investigation, it is time for it to bring charges against those most responsible, including Maduro, who candidly allowed the implementation of repression," Almagro said during the meeting. However, Almagro's statements do not influence the Court - or, as it is known in Latin America, the "Corte" - so they remain a political statement.