The Secretary General of the Organization of American States (OAS), Luis Almagro, announced on Wednesday that he will ask the International Criminal Court (ICC) to order the arrest of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, whom he accused of having committed a “bloodbath” against protesters following Sunday’s elections.
“It is time for justice and we are going to request that charges be brought with an arrest warrant,” Almagro said during an extraordinary session of the OAS Permanent Council held in Washington, where he invited member states to join the request.
The Secretary-General said that “given” the investigation being conducted by the ICC Prosecutor into alleged crimes against humanity committed in Venezuela since 2014, “the time has come to bring charges against those most responsible, including Maduro.”
According to Almagro, the Venezuelan president has been in charge of directing the instruction for the implementation of repression against the Venezuelan people.
“Maduro announced a bloodbath and he is fulfilling it,” said the Uruguayan politician, referring to the 17 protesters killed in anti-government demonstrations following Sunday’s elections.
Maduro said before the elections, during an electoral event, that Venezuela could fall into a “bloodbath, into a civil war” if he did not win the elections.
“It was something that impressed me when he said it, but it impresses me even more when he is doing it,” Almagro said.
The crisis in Venezuela has worsened since the National Electoral Council (CNE) declared Maduro’s victory in Sunday’s elections, results rejected by the opposition and much of the international community, which demands to see the voting records to verify the result.
The OAS, however, failed to secure a majority on Wednesday to approve a resolution demanding verification of the results in Venezuela, due to the abstention or absence of countries such as Brazil, Colombia and Mexico.
Extraordinary meeting
A resolution demanding that Venezuelan authorities immediately publish the minutes of Sunday’s election failed to gain the support needed to be approved by the Permanent Council of the Organization of American States (OAS) on Wednesday, after countries such as Brazil and Colombia abstained and others, such as Mexico, were absent.
The extraordinary meeting of the Washington-based organization was convened by the seven countries whose diplomatic personnel were expelled from Venezuela after the elections – Argentina, Chile, Costa Rica, Peru, Panama, the Dominican Republic and Uruguay – as well as the United States, Canada, Ecuador, Paraguay and Guatemala.
After more than five hours of negotiations behind closed doors, a resolution on Venezuela was put to a vote with 17 votes in favor, none against, 11 abstentions and five absences, so it did not obtain the support of the absolute majority of members of the Pan-American organization necessary for its approval.
The text urged the National Electoral Council (CNE) of Venezuela, which early Monday morning proclaimed the victory of President Nicolás Maduro in results rejected by the opposition and part of the international community, to “immediately publish the results of the vote” at each polling station.
It also calls for “comprehensive verification of the results in the presence of independent observer organisations to ensure the transparency, credibility and legitimacy of the results.”
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