Venezuelan Foreign Minister Demands Immediate Resignation of OAS Secretary General

The demand comes as a recent poll affirms that over two-thirds of Venezuelans oppose international intervention in their country.

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Los Angeles, June 20, 2016 (venezuelanalysis.com) – Venezuelan Foreign Minister Delcy Rodriguez issued a call Sunday for the immediate resignation of Organization of American States (OAS) General Secretary Luis Almagro.

Rodriguez cited ongoing attempts by the general secretary to intervene in Venezuelan national affairs, which she said constituted an overstepping his powers. Almagro began his term as general gecretary for the regional bloc just last year.

“Venezuela demands the immediate resignation of @Almargo_OEA2015 in light of his persistent attacks against [our] country, in blatant violation of the OAS Charter,” expressed Rodriguez via her Twitter account @DrodriguezVen.

She continued, “Mr. @Almagro_OEA2015 disregards the evaluation concerning his term at the 46th General Assembly, due to the lack of balance and impartiality regarding Venezuela.”

Additionally, Rodriguez condemned Almagro for his recent actions invoking the Democratic Charter against Venezuela to justify regional intervention and denounced his alliance with the South American nation’s right-wing opposition. “@Almagro_OEA2015 declares and acts like a Venezuelan anti-democratic and extreme opposition activist. He continues to attack the government,” she published.

However, in a recent exclusive interview published by the Grupo de Diarios América (Spanish: American Group of Daily Newspapers), Almagro insists that it was never his intention to suspend Venezuela from the regional bloc and that he fully supports “serious dialogue”.

“Invoking the Democratic Charter establishes a process, in which suspension is naturally the last step. No one aspires to reach that outcome,” Almagro explained.  

With respect to the continued attempts to secure dialogue between the Bolivarian government and the opposition, Almagro commented, “We have always favored a dialogue and we have made several calls and offered our services to facilitate in this case and other countries of the region.”

Their statements come as a recent Hinterlaces also poll found that 67% of Venezuelans disagree with an international intervention. Furthermore, a clear 84% majority further oppose any international military action taken to intervene in the country and remove President Nicolas Maduro from the government.

On Tuesday, the OAS will discuss Venezuela’s proposal to evaluate General Secretary Almagro while on Thursday, the Permanent Council will gather to debate ongoing tensions in Venezuela per Almagro’s request.