Countries demand a democratic transition in Venezuela

The United States and Argentina issued a joint declaration this Thursday, joined by thirty countries, including Spain and Chile, to resolve the Venezuelan political crisis and achieve a transition of power. democratic.

However, the document has major absences and its influence will be really limited. Brazil, Colombia or Mexico chose not to be part of an initiative that does not incorporate France among the European powers. Spain, which had kept secret whether it would adhere, finally agreed to integrate this joint declaration.

“It is time for Venezuelan leaders to begin constructive and inclusive discussions towards a transition with guarantees for both parties and thus resolve this political impasse and peacefully restore democratic institutions,” the document concludes.

The 32 delegations that make up it are Argentina, Australia, Austria, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Canada, Costa Rica, Croatia, Chile, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Estonia, the European Union, Germany, Guatemala, Guyana, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Kosovo , Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Panama, Peru, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Ukraine, the United Kingdom and the United States.

In this declaration, endorsed at a high-level meeting in New York on the margins of the United Nations High Level Week, Chavismo is also asked for “an end to the excessive use of force, political violence and harassment against the opposition and civil society.

“We remain very concerned about the widespread and ongoing repression, as well as the human rights violations, abuses and attacks after the elections,” can be read in the text signed this Thursday.

The document details the alleged abuses of the Maduro regime and specifically mentions “arbitrary detentions (including those of children), deaths, denial of fair trials, intimidation tactics, repression against members of the opposition.”

Edmundo González, winner with “the electoral records available”

In this “context of violence”, the text refers to the opposition candidate Edmundo González Urrutia, exiled in Spain, as the person who won “the majority of votes” according to “the publicly available electoral records.”

“If today we have a single objective, that is to guarantee that the will and votes of the Venezuelan people are truly respected and that they can determine their own future,” said US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, at the beginning of this summit.

The 32 signatory countries also agreed to demand that Maduro reinstate the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights in Venezuela and allow the six opponents granted asylum in the Argentine Embassy to leave the country safely..