More concrete actions against Venezuela’s dictatorship

Carlos Sánchez Berzaín
May 9, 2018 

(Interamerican Institute for Democracy) Venezuela’s regime of organized crime is willing to indefinitely mock its people and the international community.  The humanitarian crisis, narcotics’ trafficking, the crimes, and the illegitimate and illegal hold of the political power that the Castroist Chavist system has produced and executes in Venezuela, have an impact on the whole region and the world.  Democratic governments have the legal means to act by taking more concrete actions and end the danger Nicolas Maduro’s dictatorship represents.

Venezuelans and the people who suffer the consequences of the Castroist Chavist dictatorships in the region are desperate and are already showing signs of being tired of further analysis, discourse, solidarity, and good intentions from democratic governments, international organizations and political leaders, all while the situation continues to deteriorate and worsens and the dictatorships close the cage of shamefulness in order to indefinitely remain in power.

Some important measures have been adopted by democratic countries such as; the United States, Canada, Costa Rica, Peru, and others, but these are not enough to stop the crimes the dictatorship commits daily in Venezuela.  The only way to stop the dictatorship’s crimes is to end the dictatorship itself.

In the current situation, International Law offers additional mechanisms to return freedom and democracy to Venezuela, without the need of having to resort to the use of force to restore international peace and security. Following are some suggestions of actions the world’s democracies could avail themselves with regarding Venezuela’s dictatorship:

– Expressly ignore Nicolas Maduro and his regime as the government of Venezuela, making him unable to continue representing it and acting on its behalf internationally.  This would deprive the regime of the right to represent the state recognized by International Law.

– Withdrawal of ambassadors, such as what has been done by Costa Rica.

– Apply the Palermo Convention against Maduro and his accomplices for “substantial effects to other states”.  The international community cannot continue allowing Maduro to cover up his crimes with the argument that he is a government or with his ruse of sovereignty. The control of Venezuela by an Organized Crime’s group and the daily commission of crimes that have an impact on the whole world IS NOT AN INTERNAL MATTER but A MATTER OF TRANSNATIONAL ORGANIZED CRIME.  Without taking narcotics’ trafficking and crimes against humanity into account, the millions of Venezuelans who have been turned into forced migrants to Panama, Brazil, Colombia, Peru, Chile, Argentina, the United States, Mexico, Canada, Spain, and elsewhere, are living proof of this.

– Comply with the ruling of Venezuela’s Supreme Justice Tribunal (the legitimate one that is in exile) who, with ample jurisdiction and competence, ruled for the prosecution and ineligibility of Nicolas Maduro to hold any civil service position and ordered the Bolivarian National Guard to serve notice and detain the dictator, and asked Interpol to issue a red alert.  Thus far, the only one to acknowledge this Judicial Order has been the General Secretary of the Organization of American States (OAS).

– Suspend economic relations.  It cannot be that while the United States, Canada, and other countries impose economic sanctions against Venezuela’s dictatorial regime, other governments rotate their ambassadors as a clear sign of support due to their economic interests in Venezuela and the pressure exerted by the dictatorship.

– Ignore all acts and contracts of the dictatorship.  Nothing internationally agreed to by the dictatorship ought to be acknowledged or recognized and shall not be recognized when democracy is restored.

– Nicolas Maduro’s regime should be made ineligible to have the legal capacity to act on behalf of Venezuela at international organizations, coupled with the removal of representatives who it has already accredited.

– Identify and impose sanctions to non-democratic regimes who are partners of Venezuela’s dictatorship in the region, regimes such as the ones in Cuba, Bolivia, and Nicaragua for their violations against international peace and security and their acts of interventionism.

– Urge the opening of prosecution proceedings against Nicolas Maduro and his accomplices at the International Court of Justice at The Hague, as a class action suit of international interest, respecting and abiding the purpose for which this organization was created.

– Open international pressure to Cuba’s dictatorship because it is the one who organized, directs and sustains Maduro’s regime.

Published in Spanish by Diario las Américas on Sunday May 6th, 2018

Translated from Spanish by Edgar L. Terrazas, member of the American Translators Association, ATA # 234680.