ALBA and Non-Aligned Movement Reject US Aggressions Against Venezuela, Call for Dialogue

Caracas, March 18, 2015 (Venezuelanalysis.com) – Two multilateral bodies, the Bolivarian Alliance of the Peoples of Our America (ALBA) and the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM), joined the international chorus condemning President Obama’s executive order targeting Venezuela this week.

The executive decree, which declares Venezuela an “unusual and extraordinary threat” and imposes further sanctions against top Bolivarian officials, was also firmly rejected on Saturday by the twelve South American nations that make-up UNASUR.

ALBA Leaders Voice “Unconditional Support” for Venezuela

In an emergency summit held in Caracas on Tuesday, heads of state of the 11 nations that make up ALBA expressed their solidarity and “unconditional support” for Venezuela and called on the U.S. to “immediately cease its harassment and aggression against the government and people of Venezuela.”

The statement issued by the regional body went on underscore the need for dialogue based on mutual respect for sovereignty and self-determination, as outlined in international law. To this end, the regional leaders proposed the creation of a group of facilitators drawn from hemispheric institutions such as the CELAC, UNASUR, and ALBA, who would be tasked with mediating talks between Venezuela and the US “in order to alleviate tensions and guarantee a friendly solution.”

During his intervention at the summit, Nicaraguan president Daniel Ortega noted that the Obama administration’s latest aggressive move towards Venezuela has cemented the unity of Latin American nations in an unprecedented way.

“I would say that we are getting close to practically 80% of the members of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States […] 27 nations who have clearly declared themselves against this [executive] decree, and we are demanding that it be repealed.”

Raul Castro also expressed Cuba’s resolute support for Venezuela.

“It is impossible to buy or seduce Cuba or intimidate Venezuela,” declared the Cuban leader, referring to the normalization of relations with the US currently being negotiated. “We’ve come here to close ranks.”

ALBA was created in 2004 by Hugo Chavez and Fidel Castro as a leftwing alternative to US-led regional blocs such as the OAS, and includes Antigua and Barbuda, Bolivia, Cuba, Dominica, Ecuador, Granada, Nicaragua, San Cristóbal and Nieves, San Vicente and Granadinas, Saint Lucia, and Venezuela.

NAM Expresses “Categorical Rejection” of US Aggression

The 120 nations that form the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) also pronounced their “categorical rejection”of President Obama’s executive order.

In a communique released on Monday, the countries of the historic bloc “reiterated their firm support for the sovereignty, territortial integrity, and political independence of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela.”

Citing the UN Charter’s committment to peaceful cooperation, the NAM called for dialogue between the US and Venezuela and urged the former to “cease its illegal coercive measures.”

The NAM was founded in 1961 as an alternative for the countries of the global south to the U.S. and Soviet power blocs, and comprises two-thirds of UN member states and 55% of the world’s population.