At the June 4 meeting of the General Assembly of the Organization of American States (OAS), U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo made remarks primarily addressing Venezuela. But he also made comments about Cuba.
Comments About Venezuela[1]
The Secretary of State said, “there is no greater challenge today than the full-scale dismantling of democracy and the heartbreaking humanitarian disaster in Venezuela. While the [U.S.] welcomes the release of the unjustly imprisoned Holt family, our policy towards Venezuela remains unchanged. The [U.S.] stands steadfast in support of the Venezuelan people and their efforts to return to democracy. The Maduro regime’s efforts . . . to move towards unconstitutional government and its human rights abuses are now well known by all. All these actions have, among other ill consequences, resulted in an unconstitutional alteration of Venezuela’s constitutional order.”
“On more than one occasion, Venezuela has squandered opportunities to have the kind of dialogue that the [OAS] charter calls for. We seek only what all the nations of the OAS want for our people: a return to the constitutional order, free and fair elections with international observation, and the release of political prisoners. The regime’s refusal to take meaningful action on these issues has demonstrated unmistakable bad faith and exhausted options for dialogue under current conditions. Just two weeks ago, the Venezuelan Government staged sham elections that offered no real choice to Venezuelan people and its voters. Many of them responded sensibly by simply staying home.”
“For all of these reasons, Vice President Pence challenged member-states last month to do what the Democratic Charter asks of us when faced with an unconstitutional interruption in democratic order of a member-state: suspend Venezuela from this body. That suspension is not a goal unto itself. But it would show that the OAS backs up its words with action. And it would send a powerful signal to the Maduro regime: Only real elections will allow your government to be included in the family of nations.”
“In addition to suspension, I call on fellow member-states to apply additional pressure on the Maduro regime, including sanctions and further diplomatic isolation, until such time as it undertakes the actions necessary to return genuine democracy and provide people desperately needed access to international humanitarian aid.”
In response, Venezuela’s Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza defiantly criticized the OAS as part of a “corporation” led by the U.S. to undermine Venezuela’s sovereignty. He accused the U.S. of fostering violence that has accompanied protests and the deprivation caused by sanctions and mocked U.S. offers of humanitarian aid. “You impose economic sanctions, and then you offer your help to wash your hands. The U.S. has been perpetrating a coup d’état against Venezuela for 20 years.”
Vowing not to buckle under to the pressure, Arreaza added, “We are free. We are sovereign. And no imperialist will intervene in our country and hinder our people from voting for their own authorities and having their own democracy. “We have moral authority. You do not have moral authority,” he said, citing U.S. invasions of Panama in 1989 and the Dominican Republic in 1965.
Draft Resolution on the Situation in Venezuela[2]
The U.S. along with Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Mexico and Peru submitted a draft Resolution on the Situation in Venezuela, which presumably will be voted upon at the June 5 session of the OAS General Assembly. After the preamble, it contains the following resolutions:
- “To declare that the electoral process as implemented in Venezuela, which concluded on May 20, 2018, lacks legitimacy, for not complying with international standards, for not having met the participation of all Venezuelan political actors, and for being carried out without the necessary guarantees for a free, fair, transparent and democratic process.”
- “To reaffirm that only through a national dialogue with the participation of all Venezuelan political actors and stakeholders can national reconciliation be achieved and the necessary conditions agreed upon for holding a new electoral process that truly reflects the will of the Venezuelan citizens and peacefully resolves the current crisis in that country.”
- “To reiterate that an unconstitutional alteration of the constitutional order of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela has occurred, as stated in [OAS] resolution CP/RES. 1078 (2108/17) of April 3, 2017.”
- “To urge the Government of Venezuela to take steps to guarantee the separation and independence of the constitutional branches of power and restore the full authority of the National Assembly, the rule of law, and the guarantees and liberties of the population.”
- “To urge the Government of Venezuela to allow the entry of humanitarian aid and to implement epidemiological surveillance measures in its country to prevent the aggravation of the humanitarian and public health crisis, particularly against the reappearance of diseases such as measles, malaria, and diphtheria”
- “To invite the member states to implement measures to address the humanitarian emergency in Venezuela, including supplying medicines, as well as considering contributions to the competent international organizations to strengthen the institutional capacities of the recipient countries.”
- “To instruct the Permanent Council to identify, in coordination with the relevant inter-American and international institutions, the appropriate measures to support the member states that are receiving an increasing number of Venezuelan migrants and refugees.”
- “To call upon the member and permanent observer states to implement, in accordance with their respective legal frameworks and applicable international law, the measures deemed appropriate at the political, economic, and financial levels to assist in the restoration of democratic order in Venezuela.”
- “To remain seized of the situation in Venezuela in order to support diplomatic actions and additional measures that facilitate the restoration of democratic institutions and social peace, and that promote full respect for human rights and full adherence to the rule of law, within the constitutional framework of Venezuela and in a manner consistent with its international obligations and commitments.”
- “To apply, in strict accordance with the letter and spirit of the Inter-American Democratic Charter, the mechanisms for the preservation and defense of representative democracy provided under its Articles 20 and 21.”
Comments About Cuba[3]
In the Secretary of State’s June 4 address to the General Assembly, he had the following words about Cuba: “In Cuba today, we see an expectation that change is inevitable and that it can’t come quickly enough. Young Cubans born under a dictatorship are uninterested in hollow revolutionary slogans. They demand educational opportunities free from political constraints or a totalitarian regime’s repression. They want what youth everywhere else wants: opportunities to use their talents, to exercise their voice, achieve their potential, and build a bright future for themselves. As democratic societies, we must support young people in Cuba and elsewhere in the hemisphere in their hopes for democratic change.”
The day before the OAS General Assembly. Ambassador Carlos Trujillo, the U.S. Permanent Representative to the OAS, appeared at a meeting organized by Freedom House and made these comments about Cuba. He “acknowledged that the Venezuelan case has stolen the role of other crises such as Cuba and Nicaragua, and . . . [suggested] that the organization should follow the same steps with Havana as with Caracas.” He also indicated that the agency must work to denounce “the crimes against humanity” that the Cuban Government has committed.
’’Why Cuba does not deserve the same as what we are demanding from the regime of (President of Venezuela, Nicolás] Maduro? Why Cuba is different? It is something that has to change, it has to change in the OAS.’”
According to Trujillo at this meeting, the countries of the Americas have to “accept that Cuba is ‘he mother of all evil’ in terms of the weakening of democracy on the continent and human rights violations.” Therefore, “If we talk about Venezuela and we talk about human rights abuses, we have to talk about Cuba.” This meant, he said, the OAS must denounce “the crimes against humanity” that the Cuban Government has committed.”
These comments by Trujillo echo what he said in early May in a Univision program. Then he said “Raul Castro should be tried for his crimes against human rights”, visible through the history of Cuba, “I personally, and the US, are available to do everything possible so that the victims of Raúl Castro, of the Castro brothers, have the justice they deserve,”[4]
Conclusion
The above comments by Ambassador Trujillo are completely undiplomatic and inappropriate. They should not have ben uttered, especially since apparently there is no resolution regarding Cuba to come before the OAS General Assembly. His words as a Cuban-American attorney from Miami reveal his lack of any prior diplomatic experience and his having been an Ambassador for only one month.[5]
Instead tomorrow we will see the voting on the above resolution about Venezuela.
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[1] U.S. State Dep’t, [Secretary of State] Remarks at the General Assembly of the Organization of American States (June 4, 2018); Lee, US renews call for OAS to suspend Venezuela, Wash. Post (June 4, 2018); Reuters, U.S. Calls on OAS to Suspend Venezuela From Organization, N.Y. Times (June 4, 2018); Morello, Pompeo calls for kicking Venezuela out of OAS and more sanctions, Wash. Post (June 4, 2018).
[2] OAS Gen. Assembly, Draft Resolution on the Situation in Venezuela (June 4, 2018).
[3] U.S. State Dep’t, [Secretary of State] Remarks at the General Assembly of the Organization of American States (June 4, 2018).
[4] Carlos Trujillo: The members of the OAS have to ‘accept that Cuba is the mother of all evil,’ Diario de Cuba (June 4, 2018); Carlos Trujillo: ‘Raúl Castro must be tried for his crimes against human rights,’ Diario de Cuba (May 7, 2018).
[5] More Hostile Comments About Cuba from U.S. Vice President Mike Pence and U.S. Ambassador to the Organization of American States, dwkcommentaries.com (May 9, 2018).