US Secretary of State Antony Blinken warned on Thursday (06) before the Organization of American States (OAS) that there are more and more anti-democratic leaders in the region and called for ideologies to be put aside in order to defend democracy.
“We are seeing more and more leaders who take anti-democratic measures under the false justification that they have popular support”, criticized Blinken in a speech at 52 th OAS General Assembly, held in Lima, during which he did not directly quote anyone.
The head of US diplomacy gave as an example the approval of legislation that extends the mandates of the presidents or permitting harassment of judges.
In light of this, Blinken stated that the United States will work with its partners, both governments and civil society organizations, to denounce these abuses.
“I want to be very clear: it’s not about choosing sides between left and right or progressive and conservative, it’s about We are committed to democracy at the head of ideologies and parties”, he stressed.
The head of American diplomacy also asked the countries of the region “to unequivocally condemn the authoritarian regimes in the region”, among which he cited Nicaragua, Cuba and Venezuela.
In this sense, he denounced that the government of Daniel Ortega in Nicaragua violates the democratic charter of the OAS by “arbitrarily arresting the opposition, repressing the protests and committing flagrant electoral fraud”.
Regarding Cuba, Blinken criticized “the hundreds of people arrested” by the protests of July last year who are still in prison only for having come out to “ask for their human rights to be respected “.
Finally, he accused the Venezuelan government of Nicolás Maduro of having caused a “humanitarian catastrophe” that led to the departure of 6 million people from the country.
Blinken, whose government has promised to relax sanctions against Caracas if Maduro returns to talks with the opposition, urged of the countries that join the demand for free elections in Venezuela in 2024.
Likewise, he took the opportunity to attack the Russian invasion of Ukraine and congratulated the OAS on having expelled Russia months ago as an observer member of the organization.
Finally, he said that “it is crucial” that all countries condemn the “fraudulent referendums” on the annexation of four eastern provinces to Russia and southern Ukraine.
