Venezuela’s ambassador to the Organisation of American States (OAS), Carmen Velazquez, interrupted a media conference held by Secretary General Luis Almagro with Venezuelan opposition leaders on March 20, which she slammed as a violation of the organisation’s internal norms.
“The Venezuelan Mission to the OAS once again deplores the actions of Mr Luis Almagro who in his outrageous and provocative political media campaign against the legitimate and constitutional government of Venezuela has called for March 20, 2017 a press conference with members of the Venezuelan ‘Popular Will’ political party, utilising once more the spaces of the OAS for proselytising purposes,” the statement reads.
Velasquez asserted that the move by Almagro not only constitutes a violation of the OAS’s principle of non-intervention in member-states’ internal affairs, but also directly clashes with the body’s Administrative Memo No. 66, which states that, “the programs or functions of the facilities of the OAS, or any installation of the organisation, will not be political, nor will they have an analogous character or purpose”.
The protest by the Venezuelan delegation adds to a growing chorus within the OAS calling for Almagro’s resignation.
[Abridged from Venezuela Analysis.]
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